


Fated

by Cyllia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Biting/Marking, Eventual Smut, M/M, Sexual Content, Soulmates, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:58:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14190501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyllia/pseuds/Cyllia
Summary: Naruto grew up listening to stories about soulmates, so when he finally found his he thought that he would be happy. But he was wrong. Between Sasuke Uchiha being a guy and a vampire, his kind’s worst enemy, Naruto finds that the problems keep piling up one after another. But even with everything going to hell around him, Naruto can’t fight off the feelings he has for Sasuke, because after all, they are fated.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the first fanfics I’m writing so I’m still trying to get a feel for things. I’m just going to post the first two or three chapters to see how it does so far, so if you like it comment and maybe I’ll continue it.

Naruto grew up listening to tales about soulmates. His mother would always tell him stories about them every night before he went to sleep. He would remember the way she stroked his hair as she told him the story of how she met his father. Not leaving a single detail out, she would start from the begin and drag it out until he had to tell her to hurry it on, to which she would always shush him and continue from where she left off, going even slower. Naruto knew the story by heart, knew every word and every little thing that happened, but he loved hearing his mother tell it, even with how slow she went. He vaguely recalled that his father would occasionally stand in the doorway, watching them with a smile on his face. Sometimes, he would interrupt and add something in only to be hushed. It always made him laugh. 

Whenever the story ended, he would always ask the same question: “How will I know when I find my mate?” And his mother always said the same thing.

“You’ll just know.” That was all she said, every time. And Naruto believed it. He believed everything he heard about soulmates. 

The thought of having someone fated for him and being fated for someone else made him feel giddy. He loved the idea of it. It was the only thought that kept him calm when his parents went missing. Naruto tried to keep his hopes up though, but after a year had passed, he finally had to accept the fact that they were never coming back. No one ever told him what happened to them, not even now when he was older. 

Now, he could barely remember what they looked like. Trying to picture their faces in his head was like trying to see them through a thick fog. He still tried to imagine them though. 

Sighing, Naruto opened his eyes, his thoughts full of his parents. He rubbed his forehead and stared up at the ceiling. The room was pitch black and completely silent except for the faint breathing he heard. Beside him, Gaara laid on his back, sound asleep. He was so still as he slept that Naruto would have doubted he was alive if it weren’t for his chest steadily moving up and down as he breathed. Naruto glanced away from Gaara and stared out the window. Behind the covering of dark clouds, he could see a tiny sliver of the half moon peeking out. 

Naruto scrunched his nose while looking out. His senses felt dulled with the moon pushed behind the shadow of the clouds. He hated the feeling. It was like a thin layer of film wrapped around his body, numbing his touch, smothering his sense of smell, and rendering his hearing to that of a normal person. Iruka told him it was because he had a strong connection with the moon, but Naruto never understood what that meant exactly. 

Running a hand through his hair, he frowned as his stomach started to growl. He silently shushed it and peeked behind his shoulder at Gaara. He was lightest sleeper Naruto knew–any small sound or movement could wake him. He was the exact opposite of Naruto, who could sleep soundly throughout an earthquake. 

Once he saw that Gaara hadn’t moved at all, Naruto looked up at the ceiling again and tried not to move, but his stomach wouldn’t quiet down and he only grew more hungry. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he sat up slowly and silently, making sure not to move the bed, and then he placed his feet on the ground. Naruto stood and tip toed to the door, avoiding the spots he knew would creak and finally exited the room. Exhaling, he smiled. It wasn’t surprising to him anymore that he knew Gaara’s house more than his own. 

He walked down the hall into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Light flodded the room while he looked around at what food Gaara had. Nothing. Closing the fridge door, he turned around to see someone standing directly behind him. 

Surprised, he jumped back, baring his teeth, but calmed down when he saw it was just Gaara. 

“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” he said, “you almost gave me a heart attack.” He exhaled and leaned against the counter behind him, letting his heartbeat slow. Gaara gazed at him before he answered. 

“I thought you would have heard me.”

“Well I didn’t.” A frown pulled at his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. “My senses are off tonight. More than usual.” 

Gaara stared at him, his expression remaining unchanged, but he could see a hint of concern start to show in his eyes. After all the years he had known Gaara, he was only just now starting to vaguely recognize his different emotions. Naruto shook his head and smiled. 

“I’m fine”, he said turning around back to the fridge, “except I’m starving. Do you guys not eat anything around here?” He asked. For a while Gaara didn’t say anything, but Naruto could feel him behind him. 

“You ate everything,” he finally said. 

“Oh, seriously?” Naruto scratched the back of his head. He didn’t remember doing it, but he didn’t doubt it. He closed the door to the fridge and walked over to the sofa in the main room, plopping down on it. “Guess I’ll just starve tonight,” he said, reclining back on the cushion. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath in, but everything smelled weird to him. The couch dipped as Gaara sat next to him. Naruto breathed out and looked out the window near him. 

It looked to be about four in the morning. Naruto shut his eyes again. At this time, he usually would’ve been in a deep sleep, but not tonight. For some reason, his heart beat was off, irregular, and his nerves were everywhere, not to mention how messed up his senses were. 

“Is this what being nervous is like? Or do you think I’m just excited about tomorrow? Today actually,” he wondered out loud. 

Gaara shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’ll be going to an actual school, with actual people my age.” Naruto grinned just saying it aloud. School. He’s always wanted to go, but no one would ever allow him. Iruka thought that he was too careless and would do something stupid that would reveal himself to everyone, and his godfather didn’t really care or have an opinion on it. Jiraiya wasn’t even there most of the time. 

Naruto glanced at Gaara. “Do you think it’ll be fun? I think it’ll fun. Do you think I’ll like it though?”

“I don’t know,” Gaara said as he shifted, his eyes staring out the window blankly. 

Smiling, Naruto scooted closer to Gaara and playfully elbowed him. “Don’t tell me you’re pouting cause I’m not gonna be here tomorrow. You miss me already?”, he teased. In response, Gaara elbowed him back with twice the force that Naruto had. He flinched and rubbed his arm. 

“Ow! That hurt!” Naruto said. Yet, the smile he had before stayed on his face while he stared at Gaara. He remained silent and withdrawn.

“Are you really going to be okay tomorrow without me here?” He asked on a more serious note. 

Gaara looked at him and nodded. “Naruto I don’t need you to be here everyday. I’m okay when you’re here or not.”

“Yeah I know. You’re just really quiet tonight.”

Gaara only shrugged and turned his gaze away. 

“See, you’re doing it now.”

“Am I not allowed to enjoy the silence anymore?”

Naruto leaned his head on the back of the couch. “Fine. I’ll drop it. For now.” He knew something was up with Gaara, but he didn’t want to press him about it. For a while, the room lapsed into silence. Naruto was half asleep half awake, but every few minutes he sat up and tried to stay awake.

“You should leave.”

At hearing Gaara’s words, he suddenly spiked up, wide awake. “What? Why?”

“You need to go home and get ready, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Naruto’s shoulders relaxed and he exhaled again. “I thought you were kicking me out.” He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. Light flooded the room as he turned it on and looked at the time. “Yeah, I should probably go.”

Standing up, he stretched and glanced at Gaara. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

While he walked towards the door, his phone vibrated in his hand. He looked down to see that Iruka texted him telling him to be ready in thirty minutes. His hand reached out for the doorknob as he texted him back. 

“I think you’ll like it.”

Naruto paused and looked at Gaara. “What?”

“School. I think you’ll like it. You like being around other people so I think you’ll really like it there.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said smiling.

“That was all. You can leave now.”

“I’m going.” He opened the door and let it shut behind him. The cool August air was the first thing he felt against his skin as he walked out. His senses heightened, making the frigid air feel like millions of little needle points on his skin. Naruto shivered at the sensation. Usually he liked the hour walk between his and Gaara’s house, but today with his senses going haywire and the lack of time, he couldn’t enjoy it.

In minutes he was at his house, barely short of breath after running the whole way. The porch creaked under him as he walked inside. The house was cold and dark. Naruto shivered and rubbed his arms as he went up the stairs to his room. Clothes and trash covered the floor, while his bedding hung off his bed onto the floor. Immediately, he slid his shirt off and added it to a pile of dirty ones on his bed. After searching his room, he found a clean shirt and pair of pants and slipped them on. 

Just in time, he heard the door downstairs opening and closing followed by footsteps. Quickly, he patted down his hair and sped out of his room. 

“How do I look?”

Iruka looked up at him and nodded. “Surprisingly good.”

“Surprisingly?” Naruto asked walking down the stairs.

“I expected you to come out either wearing something dirty or something over the top, but this is good.”

“I’m mature now.”

Iruka smiled at him and tousled his hair. “Yeah, I guess you are.”

“Hey! Don’t mess my hair up.”

Iruka took a step back and glanced at his watch. “We should leave now. Are you ready?”

“More than ready.”

“Let’s get going then. It takes about an hour and a half to ride into town.”

Naruto followed him out and practically ran to the car. He got in the front seat and settled himself in. Seconds later, Iruka joined him and started the car. Watching him back away from the house, Naruto leaned back in his seat and then looked out the window. It was still dark out, but Naruto could clearly see every little bug flying by, all the bushes they passed, along with every detail of the trees. His sight was getting better. Better than it usually was. Naruto opened his mouth to tell Iruka about it, but paused realizing that if Iruka knew something was wrong, then he wouldn’t let him go to school today. Naruto shut his mouth and looked forward through the window.

For the most part of the ride, Iruka went over everything about school and told him about classes, schedules, and most importantly the rules, but Naruto’s focus went out the window at that last point. He almost fell asleep while Iruka droned on about the dress code regulation until his voice snapped him out of his daze.

“Naruto, are you listening?”

He sat up in his seat and weakly nodded his head. “Mm-hmm, I’m listening.”

“What was the last word I said?”

“...Said.”

Iruka sighed and looked over at him. “Naruto, I don’t know if you’re ready for–“

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto interjected himself in. “No, I’m ready for this. I swear. Please,” he added. Beside him he could hear Iruka sigh again. 

“Okay, but if you feel overwhelmed, I’m in room 209 in the west building.”

Naruto nodded his head. 

“If you feel that something’s wrong, or that you’re about to shift for some reason–“

“I’m not an idiot, Iruka. I won’t shift, I won’t do anything that will give me away.”

This time Iruka nodded his head.

“Okay. But just in case, I made it so you’ll be following Kiba around today, so if you need something ask him or me.” 

“Got it.” He’d only met Kiba twice, but they had gotten along instantly. It helped that he was a werewolf too. That was one of the main reasons why Iruka let him go to school. 

Outside the window, more buildings and shops started cluster together the closer they got to town. Naruto pressed his nose to the glass to get a better look at everything. It’s been a year since he last visited the town, but not a thing changed. The same restaurants, shops, and businesses that lined the street when he last saw the town were still there, unchanged. 

Soon, he saw the school up on the hill, looking bigger than it ever did before. As they drove up the slanted road, Naruto saw a group of girls his age walking on the sidewalk to the school, smiling and laughing with each other. For a second the smile that he had on his face faltered. He wondered if he would ever be able make friends like that. If the people here would like him. Naruto tore his gaze away from the girls he saw and looked forward at the school. 

The excitement he felt earlier began to bubble up within him again. His fingers drummed against the side of his door in anticipation.

“Calm down, Naruto.”

“I can’t. I’m too excited,” he said cheerfully.

Iruka pulled into the parking lot and parked. In a flash, Naruto unbuckled and had his hand on the door handle ready to go.

“Hey, wait Naruto.”

Naruto groaned and looked at Iruka. “What now?”

He reached into the backseat and pulled out a book bag and a piece of paper. “Here, you’ll need this and your schedule.”

“Oh yeah.” Naruto grabbed it from his hand and reached to open the door again. 

“You’re in room 102 in the east building and remember I’m room–“

Before Iruka could finish his sentence, Naruto was already getting out of the car and closing the door behind him. In a hurry, Naruto walked away and approached the entrance of the school. He stared at it in awe as his strides slowed. _So this is a school_ , he thought. Naruto grinned widely and went through the gates, his eyes flicking between one thing to the next in an attempt to take everything in.


	2. Chapter 2

It was just like he imagined. Big buildings with a numerous amount of people chatting inside and out. 

He slung his book bag over his shoulder and went inside one of the buildings. Pulling out the schedule that Iruka gave him, he looked over everything. E102. Naruto glanced up and looked around.

“Where is that?” He rubbed the back of his head and walked forward, hoping to stumble upon it, but after six minutes of wandering around he gave up and decided to ask someone. Near him, Naruto saw a girl with black hair standing by her locking. _Perfect_.

“Hey, do you know how to get to E102?” He asked walking towards her. She turned around, but her face turned red once she saw him. 

“Oh..um yeah. I’m going there now...if you want to follow me.”

Naruto smiled at her. “Yeah, thanks.” She nodded and then closed her locker. He followed beside her down the hallway. 

“I’m Naruto by the way.”

“I’m Hinata,” she responded in a quiet voice. 

Naruto peered at her and saw that her face was still red. _Maybe she’s sick_. 

“Thanks for showing me where to go. I thought I was going to have to wander around until I found the right place by chance.”

Hinata smiled meekly. “Your welcome.” She paused for a second and then continued. “Can I see your schedule? To see if we have any more classes together.”

“Oh, yeah.” He unfolded his schedule about to hand it to her when he suddenly felt his ears start to ring. Flinching, he stopped and covered his ears. 

“Are you okay?”

The pain he felt started to subside and then his hearing cleared up. Like his eye sight, his hearing got better to the point where he could hear every word of what the people outside were saying. Naruto clenched his teeth together, ignoring everything and forced a smile on his face. Normal. He had to act normal.

“I’m fine. I think a bug just flew near my ear. Here.” He handed her the schedule, faking a laugh.

“Oh,” she simply said. 

As she looked over his schedule he walked beside her, plugging his ears ever second or so. First his sense of touch improves greatly, then his sight and now hearing. Naruto didn’t know what was happening today, he just hoped it wasn’t anything important or grave. His ears twitched as they picked up voices from the room a few doors down. 

“Naruto?”

“Yep.”

“Here.” She handed him back his schedule and looked away. “We just have this class together.”

“That sucks. I was hoping to have a class with someone I know. Plus you seem really nice.” Hinata remained mostly silent at that and then abruptly stopped.

“This...this is it.”

“Thanks again Hinata.” Naruto walked into the classroom with Hinata following behind. A few people looked their way but not for too long before they let their gaze somewhere else. He walked to one of the desks in the front and sat his stuff down. For a brief second, his ears started ringing again and he started to feel lightheaded. He sat down as a headache came upon him. Just ignore it. It’ll go away, he told himself. And it did, leaving his senses better than before. He blinked and rubbed his temples. As he looked back up at the door, Hinata was still standing near the entrance, her face red, and someone else was entering through the door. The scent smelled familiar to him, but he couldn’t place it until he saw Kiba’s face. 

“Naruto, hey!” Kiba smiled, making his way to him. 

“Hey.”

He sat down next to him and reclined back in his chair. For a while they talked and caught up and then Kiba introduced some of his friends. Everything was going well until he smelled something in the air. Something odd. 

“Hey, do you smell that?” Naruto sniffed at the air as he looked around for the source of it. Kiba looked at him, a confused look on his face.

“Smell what?” He said, sniffing the air. “You fart or something?”

Naruto shook his head. “No.”

“What’s it smell like?”

Inhaling, Naruto’s fingers dug into the chair until he could barely feel them anymore. His eyes fluttered close while he focused on the scent. Words couldn’t begin to describe what it was like, it was nothing like he’d ever experienced before. Naruto felt his heart beat become erratic and his breathing became unrestrained with short and quick breaths. 

“It smells...amazing”, he mumbled. 

Kiba stared at him. “Are you okay dude?”

Without answering, Naruto abruptly stood from his seat and walked out of the room. He didn’t know where he was going, but he let his legs lead him to wherever. Every time he inhaled, a tremor traveled down his back, prompting his legs to move faster. The smell was intoxicating. His skin prickled and the air seemed to grow warmer and more charged the closer he got. The smell was stronger than ever now. Naruto ended up in another hallway that was packed with people. He could feel that what he was looking for was here. He looked around frantically, and that was when he spotted her. 

The sunlight perfectly hit her pink hair, seeming to form a halo around her head and her eyes shined brightly. She was beautiful. Someone was walking next to her, a boy with black hair. As his eyes landed on the pair, his heart sped in his chest, strongly and rapidly beating. 

_Soulmate_. The word just suddenly appeared in his head out of nowhere. It had to be her. Who else could it be? Different emotions flooded him at once. He took one step towards her, trying to figure out what he going to say to her, but he came up empty. He didn’t care what he said, he just needed to speak to her. He took another step to her, but then suddenly the bell rang. Naruto closed his eyes and covered his ears since they were still sensitive to sounds. When he opened them back up, she was gone. His head turned back and forth quickly while he looked for her again, but there was no sight of her. 

“Damn.” _I missed my chance_. 

Naruto was kicking himself for being so slow, but he was still happy on the inside more than anything. He’d found his soulmate. Finally. All the stories his parents told him about soulmates were true, not that he ever doubted them for a a second, but now having actually proof of it, Naruto was overjoyed. He was too caught up in his thoughts to notice that the hallways were all empty now. It wasn’t until a teacher came by and reprimanded him when he realized it. Using the excuse of “I’m new and lost”, he was able to get out of any trouble and got back to his home room without a hitch. 

For the rest of the day though, he was in a daze. He couldn’t focus on anything else except the girl, his soulmate. Just thinking about her made him break out into smiles and laughs, causing Kiba to look at him strangely throughout the day, but he didn’t care. He met his soulmate. When he told Kiba about it, he responded with the words bullshit and idiot, and the proceeded to tell him how soulmates was just a stupid fairytale, but Naruto didn’t take it to heart. 

After the dismissal bell had rang, he leaned over on Kiba’s desk and asked him for his soulmate’s name. 

“Sakura,” he said, “but don’t mess with her, she’ll kick your ass easily.”

“Sakura,” he said out loud. He liked the name. 

“But she’s always fawning over Sasuke. You don’t stand a chance with her, she’s way out of your league.”

“Sasuke?” At hearing the name, his heart beat spiked.

“Yeah, Sasuke. Uptight dude, filthy rich, every girl obsesses over him, though I don’t get it.”

“Hmm.”

“Hey, what’s up with you today? You’ve been acting so weird ever since you ran out of home room.”

Naruto grinned and stood up from his desk. “I met my soulmate. That’s why.”

Kiba rolled his eyes and walked away from him. “Not this again.”

“It’s true!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Naruto followed him out until they stopped at his locker.

“You’re just jealous cause you’ll never find your soulmate.”

Snickering, he closed his locker door. “Sure. You know she’ll never pay you any attention.”

“Just wait and see.”

“No one can wait that long Naruto.” With that he waved and turned around, leaving. “See you later.”

Naruto frowned at him as he walked away. “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath. He walked the opposite way of him down the hall towards Iruka’s room. He was almost there when he smelled that scent again. It was her. Naruto turned right down the hallway and followed the smell. She was still here. He inhaled deeply. He didn’t think that he would ever tire of that smell. Without a thought, he followed his nose and stopped in front of double doors leading into one of the rooms. Above the door, the room was labeled ‘library.’ _Not only is she pretty, but smart too_. Naruto inhaled one last time, calming his nerves and enjoying the smell.

“Here it goes,” he said as he opened the door. Bookshelves full of hardback books was the first things he saw entering. The room was larger than he expected and bookcases blocked his view, but that was last thing he was focused on. He walked down the aisle and then turned left. He was so close to her now. His breath hitched and he felt the temperature drop while his pulse quickened. She was just around the bookcase. He felt anxious and happy all at once. He stepped out ready to see her face again.

The first thing he noticed was black hair instead of pink. His smile fell away from his face. It wasn’t her, but the smell was here. Naruto stared at the boy that sat in front of him, dumbfounded. Looking at him so intently, his senses heightened again and his chest felt heavy, not in a bad way though somehow. His heart pounded.

The boy finally noticed him standing there and looked up. When their eyes met, Naruto felt something like electricity go through his body. 

_Soulmate_. This was his soulmate. Naruto shook his head. _This can’t be_.

“What?”

Hearing his voice, Naruto felt a tremor go through his body and travel down his back. When Naruto continued to stare at him without saying a word, the boy sighed and stood, his face set in a scowl. He packed up his stuff and stood. Naruto just looked at him. He didn’t know what to say or do. He was too shocked, but he knew he couldn’t just let him go. Not now. 

As he walked by him, Naruto’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm. 

When he touched him, an indescribable feeling coursed through his body. He tightened his grip on him, wanting to feel more. He met the boy’s eyes and they were full of shock, confusion, and something else he couldn’t place. 

“Did you feel that?” He asked breathlessly. Naruto saw the boy’s breath become heavier and quicker. 

He snatched his arm back and glared at him. “Don’t touch me,” he said, his voice low and threatening. He walked away, but Naruto didn’t want him to leave yet. Before thinking, he stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

This time the feeling was more intense as he felt his skin. It was too sudden and foreign to him that Naruto felt his eyes start to change. The boy turned around just in time to see his eyes flash orange and his pupils slit. Naruto cursed in his head. The one thing he said he wasn’t stupid enough to do, he just did. He exposed himself. He opened his mouth to explain everything, but froze as he saw the boy’s eyes turn red for a split second. _What?_

“You’re a–“

Before he could finish, he let out a short shout as he felt an sharp pain in his hand. He looked down to see the pencil that was once in the boy’s hands lodged in his hand. 

“Come near me again and I’ll stab your heart next.” The threat was enough to keep Naruto in place as the boy stormed out of the library, leaving him alone with a pencil sticking out of his hand. Sighing, he slid to the floor and took a deep breath in. He could still smell him. 

“He’s my soulmate. _He’s_ my soulmate.” Naruto couldn’t wrap his head around that. Not only was he a guy, he was a vampire. He exhaled and rubbed his forehead with the hand that wasn’t injured. A laugh came out of his mouth as he tried to proces everything. Even though he’d just threatened to kill him and shoved a pencil through his hand, Naruto wanted to see him. _Something must be wrong with me_. He smiled. 

_‘Come near me again and I’ll stab your heart next.’_ He replayed those words in his head. 

“Guess I’ll have to wear armor or something when I see him again tomorrow.”

He didn’t know how long he sat in the library for. His mind was distracted with images of the boy. For a guy, he was actually pretty. Naruto was too caught up in his thoughts of him he didn’t feel his phone vibrate in his pocket or hear the doors open. 

“Naruto, I’ve been looking all over for you. Why didn’t you...” Iruka trailed off once he finally got a look at Naruto’s hand.

“What happened?” He rushed over to him and gently lifted his hand up. Surprisingly, there wasn’t that much blood, but Naruto really wasn’t paying attention to that. 

“Naruto, look at me.”

He looked up at him, a smile on his face. 

“What happened? Who did this?”

“My soulmate.”

“What,” Iruka asked him. His face was covered in confusion. Naruto sat up and stared him straight in the eye.

“My soulmate, Iruka.” Saying the words out loud brought him more joy than he thought it would. _My soulmate_. He stared down at the pencil in his hand. 

“I found my soulmate.”


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Naruto stared at his bandaged hand the whole drive home. Whenever it started to sting and throb, his mind would go back to his soulmate. Sasuke. That was his name if Naruto remembered correctly. He pressed his finger against the wound, making it ache.

“Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Because for one, if you keep doing that it won’t heal and two, doesn’t that hurt?”

Naruto shrugged and dropped his hands in his lap. “Yeah, but that’s why I’m doing it.” He ignored the look that Iruka gave him and glanced out the window as they approached his house.

“I still don’t know who did this to you?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. Another student injured you and I need to report it.”

“I already told you, it was my soulmate.”

Iruka sighed. “Naruto.” He sounded weary and tired as he spoke. Naruto already knew what he was going to say next and he didn’t want it hear it.

“What?” He snapped. “I did find my soulmate. He’s real.”

“He?”

“Yeah, he. Got a problem with that?”

“No, I have a problem with the fact that he stabbed you in the hand.”

“Whatever.” When the car stopped in front of his house, he got out and briskly walked inside, shutting the door behind him. The car door slammed shut outside, but he ignored it and went up to his room. So far, no one believed him about his soulmate. He was pretty sure Sasuke wouldn’t believe him either. Naruto tossed his shirt away and changed into a set of clothes that didn’t have specs of his blood on them. _Gaara will believe me_ , he thought. He picked up his phone off the bedside table and sped down the stairs.

“Naruto.”

“I’m going to Gaara’s so I’ll see you tomorrow.” Not giving him a chance to speak, Naruto left the house and broke out into a sprint. Wind blew through his hair and on his face as he ran through the woods. When he got far enough out, away from the house and Iruka, he slowed and started walking. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, drowning out the rest of the sounds in the forest.  


Naruto ran a hand through his hair as his other hand started to throb, following the rapid beat of his heart. A faint red was starting to show through the bandage, but he couldn’t care less about his hand. It would heal within days.  
His mind was more preoccupied with Sasuke.

In all the stories his mother told, she never mentioned how distracting having a soulmate was. He could barely think straight before he met Sasuke, and now after seeing him once, he would never be able to focus again. A sigh left him while he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

He hopped over a log and continued walking, his feet crunching through piles of leaves as he went. Trees rustled and swayed in the wind and thin beams of light shone through the gaps of the leaves on the trees. Being here, Naruto felt relaxed and he started to regain control of his emotions and thoughts. The woods always had a calming effect on him ever since he was young and that never went away. He slowed his pace, enjoying the walk more until he finally saw Gaara’s house nestled among the trees.

It was small and in the middle of nowhere, but it was cozy and Naruto preferred being here rather than his own house. He approached the house and opened the door, letting himself in.

“I’m back!”

Situated on the couch, Kankuro sat in front on the tv while Temari sat in one of the chairs, her attention completely focused on her phone.

“Do you have to announce yourself every time you come here?” Kankuro asked flipping through channels.

“Yeah, so you’ll know it’s me. Duh.”

“Who else comes here except for you?”

Naruto shrugged and dropped down on the couch cushion next to him. “I don’t know.”

“Exactly.”

Naruto sat up straight, waiting for them to ask him about his day, but Kankuro’s foucs was on the tv and Temari hadn’t even looked up from her phone once since he’s arrived. After a few seconds of silence when no one said anything, he leaned back and sighed.

“Is no one going to ask me about my day?”

“Nope,” Temari said.

Sighing, he stood up. “Where’s Gaara at?”

“He’s holed himself up in his room since morning.” Momentarily, Temari looked away from her phone and down the hall towards Gaara’s room.

“Is he okay?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t talked to either of us. I think it may be _that_ again.”

Naruto nodded and started for Gaara’s room. “I’ll talk to him.”

His hand knocked against the door, but when he didn’t hear a response, Naruto just went in, closing the door behind him. The window was covered so no light came in, but Naruto could see Gaara sitting in the middle of his bed in the darkness, his hand wrapped around one of his pillows, tightly gripping it. A slight tremble made his hand shake as he clenched the cushion.

“Hey.” He walked to the bed and sat down next to him, careful not to make any sudden movements that would set him off. Slowly, he lifted his hand and set it on his shoulder.

“How bad is it?”

“Not too bad. I can suppress it.”

Naruto nodded and laid down next to him. “That’s why you were so quiet this morning. You know you could’ve told me.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just I didn’t want to bother you since you were going to school.” Naruto glanced up at him. His eyes were unfocused, but they were normal, which was a good sign that he wasn’t loosing control. Whenever he lost control and let his wolf side take over, his eyes changed colors and dialated. That was one of the main reasons why Iruka didn’t like him hanging out with Gaara. He was unstable. His wolf was violent and powerful and could potentially take over Gaara when it was set off at the sight of blood or violence, but in the last few years, he had learned to suppress that side of him for the most part. Every once in a while it would resurface though.

Naruto turned over on his side, facing Gaara. “What set it off this time?”

He set the pillow he was holding on to behind him. “I had a bad dream. That’s all.” Naruto nodded his head. That was all he was going to ask for today. Gaara seemed to be back to normal though. He leaned back against the wall, resting his head.

“How was school?”

At hearing the question, Naruto perked up and shot up on the bed. “Good! It was really cool and exciting and I found my soulmate.” Gaara stared at him without a word, but then a small smile set on his face.

“Congratulations.”

Naruto grinned. “Thanks. You know you’re the only person that said that to me today. Kiba was a jackass about it and Iruka didn’t even believe me. But I did find him. He’s..”

Naruto paused mid sentence at a loss of words. Or it was more like hundreds of words and descriptions of Sasuke swarmed around in his head, but he couldn’t tie them together to form a coherent sentence. Naruto sighed and fell back down on the bed. He didn’t even know that much about Sasuke though. Asides from what Kiba told him and the three minutes he spent together with him, he had nothing.

“He’s...” _Violent. Handsome. Smart. My soulmate. A vampire._ “.....kind of a jerk.”

.o0O0o.

“Sit wherever you want until school starts,” Iruka said as he unlocked the door.

Naruto trailed in the classroom behind Iruka, his arms full of all the papers that he was forced to carry. A frown on his face, he dropped the stack of papers on Iruka’s desk and stood in front of it, arms crossed. Too busy getting organized, Iruka didn’t notice him until Naruto coughed and cleared his throat. Sighing, he looked up at him.

“Yes?”

“What next?”

Iruka exhaled and reached over for the first paper on top of the stack. “You sit while I grade essays.”

“But–“

“Naruto, please. I’m tired and I have loads of work to do, so could you just not argue with me right now.”

Naruto looked at Iruka while he went back to work at his desk. The bags under his eyes were prominent and his weariness showed with the way he slouched over in his seat. Naruto nodded and turned away from him.

“Okay, fine.” He plopped down at one of the desks in the middle of the room and tried to sit quietly. It was harder than he thought to be. After a minute of sitting doing nothing, he tapped his fingers against the desk and whistled until Iruka shot him a look. A sigh left him while he put his head down onto the desk. Staring out the window, he rocked back and forth on the legs of his chairs. It was still dark outside, but now the birds were starting to chirp as the day began.

Naruto glanced back at Iruka, but he was still hard at work at his desk. The sound of his pen scratching against the paper was the only sound that filled the room. Earlier that morning when Iruka called him three hours before normal telling him to get ready, he thought that they would be doing something exciting, but he clearly didn’t understand school yet. Naruto leaned his head back and stared at the wall behind him. For minutes he sat with his chair tipped back, his eyes trained on the wall until his vision went blurry as the blood rushed to his brain.

Abruptly, he sat forward. The chair sounded against the ground when all four legs hit the floor.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” he said standing up and exiting the room. Iruka gave a nod and went back to work.

Not one other person showed in the halls. It was completely silent. Naruto wasn’t even sure if anyone else except for him and Iruka were in the building. No one would show up to school two hours early. Naruto yawned and went into the bathroom. When he came out he took his phone out of his pocket, deciding to call Gaara. _Maybe that will help pass the time_ , he thought. His thumb was hovering above the call button when a smell came and took away all his focus. _Sasuke._ He was here.

Unconsciously, he started walking towards him, but paused. His hand started to throb. He stared down at the bandage wrapping his wound, Sasuke’s parting words to him from yesterday replaying in his head. Naruto turned around and walked towards his locker. He opened it up, took out a binder and then slipped it under his shirt, covering his chest.

“That’ll do...hopefully.”

Taking a deep breath, he closed his locker and followed Sasuke’s scent, his footsteps silent and careful. Just like yesterday, his heart started to flutter and beat quickly the closer he got to him. Then he finally saw him around the corner, putting books into his locker. Naruto held his breath, just staring at him. Sasuke closed his locker and walked away.

Naruto followed behind him at a distance. In his head, he was still piecing together what he was going to say, but so far all the things he came up with were useless. Up ahead he saw Sasuke turn a corner. Naruto moved after him and turned the corner, but when he looked down the hallway, there was no one there. _What? Where’d he go?_

His question was answered as he felt something sharp touch the skin on his neck. Goosebumps broke out on his arms at feeling Sasuke’s breath against his skin. _I guess the binder didn’t work._

“I didn’t think you would be this stupid to come near me again after I told you not to.”

Naruto slowly lifted his hands up, but froze as he felt the sharp object dig into his skin.

“Don’t move.” At hearing how icy his voice was, Naruto shivered.

“Look, I just want to talk.”

“There’s no reason for us to talk. I know what you are, you know what I am. It’s as simple as that.”

“It’s not so simple as you say. So if you would put the knife or whatever down and let me speak to you face-to-face then I can explain everything. Give me three minutes.”

“You’re in no position to give me orders right now. I can kill you anytime I want.”

Naruto paused. He clenched his hand into a fist. “Then kill me.”

His voice was calm and even as he spoke, but on the inside Naruto was trying to keep it together. He closed his eyes expecting to feel the blade dive into his neck, but instead he felt it pull away. He sucked in a breath of air, relieved, and then slowly turned around to face Sasuke. His eyes looked turbulent as he glanced at Naruto. At seeing him up close, Naruto’s mind went blank.

“Three minutes. Talk now.”

He focused up and stood straighter at Sasuke’s words. He still didn’t know what he was going to say, so he just said the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re my soulmate and we’re fated for each other.”

Sasuke’s expression didn’t change. He just stood still, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he just stared at Naruto.

“You’re not going to say anything?”

“Two minutes and thirty one seconds left.”

Naruto scowled at him. “So I tell you that your my soulmate and you say nothing except how much time I have left to speak?”

“Two minutes and twenty seven seconds left now. You’re wasting your time.”

Naruto pressed his finger into his injured hand at an attempt to calm himself down. He took a deep breath and spoke again.

“Ever since I was younger I dreamed of meeting you, my soulmate. My parents were soulmates and they told me all these stories about it and I always thought that it was going to be a magical moment when I finally met mine. And it kind of was because you just smelled so amazing and I felt happy, even though you stabbed me, but that’s not the point. The point is that we’re made for each other, and I want to get to know you better....I guess.” Naruto hesitated before he rambled on some more. Afterwards, he caught his breath, trying to fight back the blush he felt coming on. He couldn’t stop kicking himself for how embarrassing he sounded and for how he just went on. It all just rushed out of him at once though. _I should’ve practiced beforehand_ , he thought.

Sasuke still remained silent. Naruto avoided looking at him, but he couldn’t help it as his gaze traveled to his face. It was the same stolid face he saw before.

“...are you going to say something now?”

Sasuke shifted and paused before he finally spoke. “That was three minutes. We’re now done talking.” Naruto stared at him dumbfounded as he moved to walk away.

“Wait a minute, you bastard! Were you not listening to a single word I said!”

”I was.”

”And?”

”Everything you said was idiotic and stupid.”

Sasuke’s face remained devoid of any emotion, which only made Naruto angrier. He pressed his finger hard into his injured hand, but the pain didn’t help him calm this time. Sasuke wasn’t done speaking though. Their eyes met and for a second Naruto saw a slight smirk settle on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

”Soulmates don’t exist. It’s just a bedtime story you stupidly believed.” And with that one sentence, Naruto’s anger flared.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the people that commented and left a kudo! That really pushed me to get this chapter out, so I hope you guys like it. Sorry if there’s a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes though. Leave a comment if you do like it and thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided to do Sasuke’s POV every now and then between Naruto’s. So I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

Sasuke didn’t know what it was, but he knew something was wrong with him. Ever since yesterday, his senses had been off and now as he stared at the wolf in front of him, his heart wouldn’t stop beating irregularly. 

The wolf glared at him and Sasuke thought he heard what sounded like a soft growl rumble in his throat. A small smirk pulled at his lips as he watched the anger flash in his eyes. He didn’t know that saying those few little words would set him off. At seeing his reaction, Sasuke thought that it was worth it.

“Take it back.”

Sasuke met his stare and took a step closer to him. “No. It’s just some stupid fairy tale.”

Before he could react, the wolf grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back to the lockers behind them. For a second, his eyes flashed orange. Sasuke grabbed the hand that held onto him and bent his wrist until he heard a snap. The wolf didn’t seem to be that bothered by it as he only flinched, barely making a sound. In that moment, Sasuke shoved him back and turned the tables, forcing the wolf’s back against the lockers now. He reached out and gripped his neck, but froze as an intense feeling spread through his body. The same from yesterday.

Immediately, Sasuke let go of him and took a step back. Their eyes met and he felt every inch of his body tingle. The wolf smiled at him, disregarding the fight they just had.

“See! That means we’re soulmates. I know you felt that too.”

Sasuke shook his head. “We’re done. You’ve had your three minutes.”

Not giving him the chance to say anything else, Sasuke walked away from him. Turning the corner, he could faintly hear footsteps and then voices from where he had come from. 

“Naruto, what happened? I heard a loud sound.” He heard someone ask. Sasuke flexed his hand as he breathed out. _His name is Naruto._

He didn’t hear anything else until the wolf, Naruto, spoke. 

“Nothing, I just tripped and fell into the lockers.”

Sasuke blocked everything else out and quickened his pace as he walked away. He tried to keep his mind empty as he went to the next building over, but that was more difficult than he thought it to be.

He went up the stairs towards the library and decided that he would study. He hoped that it would help to clear his mind, but when he reached the door, he saw the lights in the library off. Sighing, he leaned against the wall not even bothering to check if the door was open. He already knew that it was going to be locked. After twenty minutes had passed, Sasuke finally saw Kakashi leisurely walking down the hall. 

“You’re late,” he said curtly.

“Well someone’s in a bad mood this morning.” 

“It’s because I’ve been waiting so long for you.”

Kakashi got his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened the door, Sasuke stormed in and immediately sat down at his usual table. He tried to distract himself with studying, but it didn’t help. Instead, he thought of yesterday when he first saw Naruto. The first thing he remembered was how good his blood had smelled after he had injured his hand. It was just a few drops, but every time he inhaled, that was the only thing he could smell. Looking back on it, he didn’t even know how he was able to restrain himself. 

“Sasuke?” He looked up at hearing his name being called.

“What?”

“You’ve been staring at nothing for a while now. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He looked back down at his books, waiting for Kakashi to leave, but he didn’t. He lingered at the threshold of the door. 

“What is it?” He asked, annoyed.

Kakashi only shook his head and turned around. “It’s nothing.” While he walked away, Sasuke stared at his back. He got the feeling that Kakashi was keeping something from him, but he didn’t think about it for long. His mind was already filled with enough problems to worry about. Closing his eyes, he breathed out and then concentrated back on the book in front of him.

.o0O0o. 

The rest of the day dragged on slowly. Usually it wouldn’t have bothered him, but today it was different. Sasuke felt like he seconds away from snapping at everyone. With Kakashi being more irritating than regular and Sakura sticking to his side all day long, he was surprised that he kept it together. When the last bell finally rang, Sasuke was more than thankful for it. 

Within seconds, he was out of his seat and halfway down the hall. He was only a few steps away from the door when he heard someone following behind him. At first he was expecting to see Naruto when he turned around, but when he did it was just Sakura. The feeling lasted less than a second, but for a moment, he was disappointed. At seeing her face, he looked forward, ignoring her. 

“Hey Sasuke, I was wondering if you’re busy today because I–“

“I’m busy.”

She continued beside him, undeterred by his response. “Well maybe tomorrow we–“

“Can’t.” 

“Oh. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Sasuke could hear the dissatisfaction in her voice, but it had no affect on him. He simply didn’t care. 

As he walked into the parking lot, he took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car door. The whole drive home, no matter how hard he tried not to, his mind wandered back to the subject of soulmates. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

When he finally got home, he immediately went to his room, frustrated with not being able to control his thoughts anymore. Sasuke threw his bag on his bed and sat down at his desk and then turned on the computer. Staring at the screen, he thought of Naruto and what he said earlier that morning. His hands faltered as they hovered above the keyboard. 

Into the search box, he typed ‘do soulmates exist?’ As soon as he pressed enter, he knew that he would regret it, but for some reason instead of turning the computer off and walking away, he stayed seated and waited for all the results. In total, 2,010,000 appeared. His grip tightened on the mouse as he stared at the number. That only made him more unsettled. He chose the first website listed. 

Sasuke scanned the website, but to him, everything it said was complete nonsense. He instantly went back to the results page after reading the first few sentences. It was the same for every website he went to. He read a few sentences and exited it once he saw what was written in it. _One more_ , he told himself. One more website, and then he would be done searching for something that wasn’t real. But he couldn’t stop. One more turned into three more and three more turned into six more. Before he knew it, and hour had passed and he still didn’t find the answer he was looking for. 

In frustration, he promptly turned his computer off and stood from his desk. Exhaling, he calmly smoothed his hair and walked away from his computer. He didn’t think that this would get to him this much. He still couldn’t let it go though. It nagged at him constantly–not knowing whether or not soulmates existed. He thought he knew the answer before, but now he didn’t. 

_Books might help_ , he thought. If the computer was useless, then maybe books would be better. There were no options other than that. He walked out of his room and to the library inside the house. As he went down the hallway, he momentarily glanced out the window to see a black car rolling up the hill. He didn’t pay it much attention though since plenty of people visited the house each day on accounts of business. 

Sasuke focused his gaze back in front of him and turned a corner as he approached the library. In his mind he knew that he probably wouldn’t find anything, but he still continued walking forward with purpose. He had to be sure of it. His pace slowed as he reached a pair of wooden doors leading to the library.

They creaked as he opened and then closed them after him. The moment he stepped in, the smell of leather and aged paper instantly hit him. He looked around at the shelves of books lining the walls. Once he saw a lone shelf standing in the corner of the room, he walked over to it and examined each book on the shelf. 

After a while, he started to notice that each book went in deep detail about different kind of things. Magic, occult, various creatures. Everything except what he was looking for. As he was about to give up, he noticed a red leather-bound book peeking out. Unlike all the others, it wasn’t covered in dust. 

He pulled it out to see that it was a handwritten journal just like the others. Flipping through the pages, one word continuously appeared again and again on each page and stood out to him. Werewolf. After reading through a few pages, he saw that it was a guide on werewolves that contained their history, tendencies, abilities, weaknesses, and how to kill them. 

As he read over a section detailing how to kill a werewolf with a blade, his chest tightened. Suddenly, the image of Naruto covered in blood popped into his head. His breathing became uneven and he dug his fingers into the leather of the book. Abruptly, he slammed it shut. He clenched his teeth while he took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong with me?” 

After he had calmed down, he stared down at the book. Sighing, he gripped it in his hand and turned around to leave. He reached out for the door handle, but before he could open it, the door swung outwards as someone opened it before him. 

Sasuke halted and looked at the person in front of him. An uneasy feeling passed through him as his eyes landed Itachi. _Why is he here?_ He discreetly hid the book behind his back while Itachi stared at him.

“Sasuke,” he simply said.

“Why are you back?”

“Well it’s nice to see you too.”

He paused for a second. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Don’t worry. I’m only back for three days and then I’m leaving again.”

Sasuke nodded. He stepped to the side and moved to walk past him, but froze when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“What book do you have?”

Sasuke felt his blood go cold when he asked that question. He gripped the book tighter and held it to his side.

“It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

Before he could even process what was happening, Itachi was suddenly behind him with the book in his hand. Sasuke turned to face him as he was opening it up and flipping through pages. 

“Interested in werewolves?”

Sasuke controlled his breathing and kept his heartbeat steady. If he didn’t, Itachi would have been able to see that he was hiding something with how erratically his heart was beating. 

“I guess.”

Itachi merely glanced at him before he handed the book back to him. Without saying anything else, he entered into the library. Sasuke watched him as he walked away. Calmly, he turned and walked until he reached his room.

As soon as he stepped in, he threw the book down on his bed and sat next to it. He was still unnerved from meeting Itachi. It was two years ago when he left home and now, of all times, he decided to just suddenly come back. _Don’t worry about him_ , he told himself. _He’s not even going to be here for a week._

Exhaling, Sasuke laid back on his bed and dragged his fingers along the surface of the book. He picked it up and read through it, starting with page one. 

It was three in the morning when he finally finished it. He closed it and placed the book on his chest. In the end, he knew almost everything about werewolves now, but nothing about what he wanted to know about in the first place. 

He stared at the ceiling of the room, his mind occupied with the thought of soulmates. He knew it was a myth, that it couldn’t be real, but a part of him wouldn’t let it go. If soulmates were real, then that would explain everything. Why his heart beat was so erratic lately, why he couldn’t seem to focus anymore, and why he didn’t just kill the wolf when he first saw him. Sasuke sighed and pushed those thoughts out of his mind. 

It didn’t matter, because rationally he knew soulmates didn’t exist. They just couldn’t. 


	5. Chapter 5

Before the sun had even started to rise, Naruto sat outside his house, staring up at the stars that dotted the sky. He continually rolled his wrist until the pain he felt in it before was nothing more than a dull ache. Resting his hand on his lap, Naruto leaned back against the wall of his house. He was starting to notice that his conversations with Sasuke always ended with him being injured.

He wondered if this happened to his parents. They were never included in his bed time stories, but he was sure they’ve had to of had a fight every once in a while. No relationship was perfect, even with soulmates. Naruto sighed and laid down on his back. The cool early morning air tickled his skin and made him feel refreshed. 

No matter how positive he tried to be, there was a part of him that still doubted everything. That Sasuke would refuse him and he would die alone, but he knew that he was thinking too much about it. He thought back to his parents.

They would’ve told him to keep at it; to not give up. A faint smile slowly pulled at his lips as glimpsed down at the hand that Sasuke injured before. By now, it was already fully healed with no indication whatsoever that he was hurt there before. 

As he rubbed his thumb over where the wound once was, an image of Sasuke appeared in his mind. Even though he was an asshole and hard to deal with, Naruto decided that he would try to talk to him again. 

.o0O0o.

Naruto stared blankly ahead of him as the teacher rambled on about formulas and equations that he would never use. His eyelids felt heavier than ever trying to stay awake through the whole ordeal. No one had bothered to tell him beforehand how boring school could be, he was left to find that out on his own. 

Pen moving in hand, he doodled in his notebook and glanced out the window. A gentle breeze blew the leaves of the three and the sky was a beautiful blue. What he wouldn’t give to be out there now. For once, Naruto was happy to hear the shrill ring of the bell pierce his ears. He immediately stood up from his desk and went over to Kiba.

“I thought school was supposed to be fun.”

Kiba snickered. “You thought wrong.”

Talking, they left the class room and started for the cafeteria. As soon as he entered, his nose was flooded with an array of smells. Naruto inhaled, picking up on different foods, people, and emotions. It was still odd to him to smell so many unusual things together at once, but they were eventually starting to blend into one negligible scent. It was progress. 

With a bounce in his step, he walked with Kiba over to the table they sat at yesterday. Shikamaru was already sitting down there, his hands typing away on a laptop in front of him, and Hinata sat across from him. He sat next to her and placed his tray of food on the table. 

“Hey.”

Hinata glanced at him, a small smile on her face. “Hi, Naruto.” 

During lunch, more of their friends sat down and they all ate and chatted, with Kiba mostly complaining about teachers and homework. Naruto smiled, looking around. Even with how boring and tiring school was, he was more than happy that he came. He had friends, and not to mention he found his soulmate. At the thought of Sasuke, it felt like butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach. He wondered what he was doing now. So far since yesterday, he hasn’t seen him again or got a whiff of his scent. 

“Naruto? Are you even listening?”

Naruto looked up at Kiba. “What?”

“Have you not been paying attention to a single word I’ve said?”

Naruto guiltily laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve maybe missed a few words here and there.”

Kiba sighed and shook his head. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about Sakura again.”

“I’m not, it’s something different.”

“I find that hard to believe since...” The rest of his words were lost on Naruto as he smelled Sasuke heading in his direction. 

He turned his head right as Sasuke walked into the cafeteria. Naruto looked at him as he scanned the room looking for something, and then their eyes met. In that moment, all the sounds in the cafeteria he heard before drowned out in his ears as Sasuke walked over to him with purposeful strides. Finally, he stopped and stood in front of Naruto.

“I need to talk to you.”

The whole table went silent and everyone’s eyes directed at Sasuke. Naruto stared at him, deciding how to respond to him. He knew that in the end he was going to say yes, but he didn’t want to seem so eager. But before he could get anything out, Sasuke spoke again. 

“Now,” he demanded. 

“Okay.” He grabbed his stuff and stood up. From all around the table, he got different kinds of questioning glances, but he ignored them and smiled. “I’ll see you guys later.” He turned to leave, but paused when he felt a hand on his wrist. 

Kiba gave him a look and shifted his eyes to Sasuke. He didn’t say anything, but Naruto could see what he meant. 

“It’s fine.” Kiba nodded at him and let go. When he turned to Sasuke again, he saw that his eyes were pointed at Kiba, fiercely glaring at him. Without a word he turned and walked away. Naruto followed him out of the cafeteria and into the courtyard.

“Where are we going?” He asked, but Sasuke didn’t respond. Staring at the back of his head, Naruto frowned and continued behind him. 

Finally, Sasuke led him to a shaded area behind the school where no one else was. It was so quiet that he could hear the wind lightly blowing through the grass. He glanced at Sasuke, but his gaze was on the ground below him and he looked deep in thought. Naruto wondered what was going through his head. Sasuke finally spoke again. 

“Hold your hand out,” he commanded.

Naruto skeptically looked at him, but he still did it nevertheless. Sasuke stared at his outstretched arm like it was something new and strange to him. It looked like he was debating something in his mind. Then, slowly, he held up his hand and lightly touched his outstretched wrist with his fingers tentatively. Naruto’s breath hitched in his throat at the feeling.

Sasuke flinched, but he didn’t pull away. Little by little, he pressed more of his hand against his skin until it was fully grasping his wrist. A tremor went up Naruto’s spine. Ten more seconds went by, and then Sasuke suddenly released his wrist. As he pulled away, he took a step back. Naruto glanced from his wrist to Sasuke. 

“Why’d you do that?” He asked curiously. Before, Sasuke has always avoided touching and even looking him, and then now he just suddenly decided to hold his wrist like that. 

Instead of answering, Sasuke just stared at his hand, entranced by it. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him and stepped closer to him. 

“Hey!” he said, waving his hand in front of his face. “What’s the matter with you?”

“Tell me about soulmates.”

Naruto hesitated, caught off guard by the request. At first, he didn’t think that Sasuke meant it, but when he met his stare, his eyes were nothing but serious. 

“Why? You said that it was nothing more than a fairy tale,” he said bitterly.

“And I meant what I said,” Sasuke wavered, shifting his eyes to the side, “but I’m starting to have second thoughts about it. So I need you to tell me more.” There was an uncertainty in his voice while he spoke, but Naruto could see that he was somewhat trying. 

He shifted and nodded. “Okay.” And so he told him everything he knew; everything that his parents have ever told him about it until there was nothing left to tell. When he finished, he glanced at Sasuke. His eyes were downcast and he held his chin as he thought it all over. 

Waiting for him to respond, Naruto fiddled with the fabric of his shirt while his eyes continuously flicked between the ground and Sasuke. Anxiety started to bubble up within him when he didn’t say anything. It was just like yesterday again when he told Sasuke that he was his soulmate. 

At last, he lifted his gaze. “I don’t understand it.”

“What part of it don’t you understand? I’m your soulmate. You’re–“

“I know. I heard you say it a million times now. What I don’t understand is how soulmates exist. How they came to be.”

Naruto stared at him puzzled. He shrugged. “I don’t know that.”

“Then how do you know soulmates actually exist?”

He shrugged again. 

“See. That’s what I don’t understand. How can you be so sure of something that you don’t have any evidence or proof for? It doesn’t–“

“You’re overthinking it.”

Sasuke stopped and narrowed his eyes at him. “What?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Naruto repeated. “You’re trying to find a rational explanation for it, but there is none.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s not making sense because you don’t want it to make sense,” he responded. Sasuke sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. Doubt shone through clearly in his eyes, but he clenched his jaw as if he was debating with himself. Naruto could see that he was trying to understand it, but his logical side was getting in the way of that. 

He took a small step towards him. “If you need proof..” Naruto reached out and touched his hand. When he saw that Sasuke wasn’t going to snap at him, he slipped his fingers around his hand, fully grasping it. His hair stood on edge as that feeling traveled through his body again. “...then this should be enough,” he finished. 

Sasuke stared at where their hands touched and then looked up at Naruto. His hair hung in his face and covered his eyes. For a second, Naruto could’ve sworn he felt Sasuke tighten his grip, but before he could be sure of it, he snatched his hand back. 

“Don’t touch me.” His voice was soft as he spoke and it didn’t carry the edge that it usually did. 

“Do you believe me now?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke moved his gaze to the wall behind him. He hesitated. “Yes.”

Naruto grinned. Waves of joy coursed through his body and he wanted to hug or even just hold Sasuke’s hand again, but he restrained himself. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he didn’t know where to begin. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke cut him off before he could get anything out. 

“Just because I believe in soulmates doesn’t mean I accept you as mine.” Within seconds, all the happiness he felt evaporated from his body. It felt like he was doused with ice-cold water. 

“Why are you being so difficult, you bastard?” 

“I’m not. I’m being practical.” Naruto clenched his hand into a fist. It took everything he had within him to not lunge at him and hit him in his smug face. It was like every time they talked, Sasuke tried his damned hardest to make him mad one way or another, and Naruto was tired of it. 

He stepped towards him and stopped only inches away from his face. Grabbing his shirt, he gripped and twisted the fabric. 

“Well you know what, fuck you.” Before Sasuke had the chance to injure him for a third time, Naruto shoved him back and let go of him. He turned on his heel and stormed away from him. He muttered “asshole” as he rounded the corner of the building. _It’s just my luck that I’ll end up with such a jerk for my soulmate_ , he thought. He lightly kicked the ground and huffed. 

When he entered into the building, the bell rang almost instantly. He breathed in deeply and after a minute, he regained control of his emotions and calmed down. Exhaling, he started walking to his classroom while he stifled the anger he felt. For the next few hours, he sat in his classes with everything stewing inside of him. He was pissed at Sasuke, but he still wasn’t going to give up. No matter what it took, Naruto had already decided that he would somehow get Sasuke to accept him. 


	6. Chapter 6

Pieces of bark flew off the tree in front of him as Naruto kicked it. 

“Damn bastard,” he muttered, sending another harsh kick to the tree. By now, one section of the tree was almost without bark while the pale wood started to show. The front of his foot throbbed from all the kicking he’d been doing, but it helped to lessen the anger he felt. 

Breathing heavily, Naruto stepped away from the tree and plopped down on the ground. He glanced over to Gaara to see him leaning against one of the other trees, his eyes trained on the sky and a bored look on his face. 

“Did taking your anger out on the tree help?” He asked. Naruto laid down on his back and rolled over on his side to face Gaara.

“...No. It didn’t.” A frown set on his face as he turned over and stared up at the sky. Sasuke’s words from earlier still floated around in his head. They wouldn’t leave him alone. Huffing, he sat up abruptly and dug his hand into the ground next to him.

“Just because I believe in soulmates doesn’t mean I accept you as mine,” he said in a mocking voice. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Hearing those words going through his mind again, he felt irritation rise up within him. He took a handful of leaves off the ground and crushed them until they were just specs that easily fell through his fingers. A sigh left him as he pointed his head down to the ground and set his hands in his lap. In a second, all the annoyance he felt left him and a sadness replaced it. 

“What if he never accepts me? I’ll die sad and alone.” An unpleasant feeling grew in his chest at the thought. Naruto rested his head on his hands and clenched his teeth together. Since the day he me Sasuke, his emotions had been out of control. One moment he was happy and then the next angry and now sad. 

“Naruto, you’re escalating things. I think he’s just overwhelmed by everything.”

Naruto snickered. He thought back to how unfazed Sasuke was yesterday. “He’s not overwhelmed. He’s calm about it all.” He fell back on the ground and laid down. He heard leaves crunching as Gaara pushed off the tree and walked over to him, but he ignored it and turned over and closed his eyes.

“Even if he doesn’t accept you, you won’t die alone,” he said as he sat down on the ground next to Naruto. “You’ll always Iruka and Jiraiya, and me.” Naruto felt a hand rest on his shoulder in a comforting way. 

“Yeah. I guess I do have you guys if he doesn’t accept me.” The words tasted bitter as he spoke them. _If he doesn’t accept me..._ Naruto shook his head. He didn’t want to think of that anymore. He glanced up at the sky to see the sun starting to set and the sky getting darker.

“So, the full moon is coming soon,” he commented, changing the topic.

“Yeah. Two weeks.”

“I bet it’ll look amazing again.” He remembered how big and bright the moon was last time. His fingers twitched in anticipation at the memory of it. For a while, they remained in a comfortable silence, just staring up at the sky. The warmth from Gaara’s hand calmed him and made him feel even more at peace. He leaned into his touch and closed his eyes.

For a second, he imagined that it was Sasuke’s hand pressing on his shoulder. A warmth blossomed in his chest at the thought, but once reality returned to him, he frowned and sat up.

“I’m tired,” he said as he stood. Gaara looked at him and then rose to his feet. 

“Okay. Let’s go home then.”

Together, they walked back to Gaara’s house. Crickets chirped and Naruto could faintly hear an owl call somewhere deep within the forest. Listening to the various sounds, he tried to clear his mind and for a few minutes his head was empty. He wasn’t thinking of Sasuke anymore, or school, or the moon, or anything at all. It was peaceful for those few minutes, but it didn’t last. One by one, the thoughts that plagued him returned and once again he was left to deal with them. 

He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. 

As soon as he stepped foot in Gaara’s house, he went directly to his room and collapsed onto the bed. He pulled the blanket over him and turned to face the window. The bed dipped as Gaara sat next to him, but he ignored him.

“Naruto...” he said, but then hesitated. Naruto could hear him exhale and slide over on the bed next to him and lay down. He didn’t say anything else. Naruto closed his eyes again and tried to fall asleep, but he stayed wide awake. Usually, it wouldn’t have taken him more than a couple minutes to fall asleep, but things were different now and he couldn’t even get a wink of sleep. 

When morning came, he sat up in the bed and stared blankly at the window. His eyes dropped and he blinked. After a while, he stood up, yawning. 

“I’m leaving,” he simply said he walked out. Gaara still rested on the bed with the covers pulled over him, but Naruto knew he was awake. 

He went over to his house, going at a slow pace and freshened up for school. By the time that Iruka had pulled up outside his house, he was ready and sitting on the porch waiting for him. The moment the car stopped, he got in it and settled in. He could feel Iruka’s gaze on him, but he didn’t say anything. 

Naruto stared at the window, deep in thought. He tried to think of a way where he could get Sasuke to realize that they were soulmates, but he came up empty. He scrunched his forehead and rubbed his temples.

“What’re you doing?” Iruka asked.

“Thinking.” Iruka only glanced at him before he started the car up and drove away. While they drove to the school, Iruka tried to start a few conversations, but Naruto was too focused on other things to respond. Before he knew it, they were already at the school, pulling up into the staff parking lot. 

He got out of the car and followed after Iruka to his homeroom. After all the time he spent thinking, Naruto finally came to the decision to not say anything to him. If he ignored Sasuke, then maybe Sasuke would get annoyed by it and be the one to approach him first. Or even better, maybe he would just forget about Sasuke all together. Thinking about his only option, he groaned and looked down at the floor. 

“That’s stupid,” he muttered to himself, but that was all he had so far. 

“What’s stupid?”

Naruto looked up at Iruka and gave a smile. “Nothing.” 

He shuffled into the classroom and sat down in his desk and waited there until school finally started. He managed to sit through almost all of his classes without a problem, but then in his last period, everything started to go downhill when he saw Sasuke sitting outside in the courtyard. 

He couldn’t help but stare at him through the window as he sat down on one of the benches and pulled out a book. Tapping his pencil against the desk, he watched him and rested his head against his hand. His dark hair was pushed back out of his face and his mouth was set in a firm line. As always, he showed a cold and passive expression. Yesterday, they hadn’t parted on the best of terms and Naruto knew that Sasuke was probably a little angry at him, but as he looked at him, a sense of ease came over him.

Then, Sasuke shifted on the bench outside and looked up from his book. As he glanced around at his surroundings, his eyes slowly lifted to the window Naruto was at. Their eyes met and Naruto felt his breath stop as Sasuke’s eyes drilled into his. 

He narrowed his eyes at him while he saw Sasuke raise his hand up towards him and then flip him off. Naruto scowled at him and returned the gesture

“Fuck you too, bastard,” he mumbled.

“What was that?” He abruptly looked up and turned to see his teacher standing behind him. Her eyes bore into his while she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

“Nothing. It was him...first,” Naruto paused when he looked back out the window. Sasuke was already gone without a trace of him left. He tightened his grip on his chair while he faced the teacher again. He gave a small smile, but she didn’t return it. After she had written him up and reprimanded in front of the class for about five minutes, Naruto was more than grateful for the bell. 

In a flash, he had all his stuff gathered and he was already out of the room. He walked over to his locker and yanked the door open. As he put his books in his locker, he saw someone out the corner of his eye walk up to him. 

“What’s up with you?” Kiba asked as he leaned against the lockers. Naruto closed his locker door and huffed.

“I got yelled at,” he merely said. 

“For what? It’s only your fifth day here.”

He frowned as Sasuke appeared in his mind. Naruto slung his bookbag over his shoulders and shrugged. “I kinda cussed, but that was it.”

“That’ll do it though.” Naruto walked along side him down the hall. 

“Well, me and a few others are going out to eat. Wanna come? Maybe that’ll make you feel better.” A smile formed on his face and all the hatred he felt for Sasuke left him within seconds. 

“Yeah!” He said, his voice full of excitement. “When? Where?” 

Kiba stopped by the door and faced him. “This place downtown. We’re leaving in a few minutes if you want to tag along and catch a ride with me.”

“Yes! I’ll come.”

“Don’t you need to ask Iruka first?” 

Naruto faltered and thought about it. “I’ll be back in less than two minutes,” he said as he ran off in the opposite direction. “Don’t leave without me!”

Kiba nodded as he walked out. Naruto quickly took off for Iruka’s room and made it there in less than a minute. When he bound around the corner into the room, Iruka was still at his desk reading over something. As soon as he entered into the room, he started speaking.

“Hey, Kiba and the others are going out to eat so can I go with them?” 

Iruka looked up at him. “I don’t know, Naruto.”

“Please,” he begged. “I’ve been good this whole week. I can handle myself. Plus, Kiba’s going to be there.” Iruaka sighed and looked down at his desk as he decided. Finally, he glanced back up at him. 

“Fine–“

“Yes!” 

“–But...text me the name of the place you’re going to, when you get there, and what time to pick you up.”

Naruto nodded his head. “Okay.” He moved to turn and leave, but then Iruka spoke again. 

“Stay with Kiba. Only go where he goes.”

“Got it.”

“If you feel weird or anything call me immediately.”

Naruto groaned and nodded again. “I got it.”

Iruka looked at him once last time and smiled. “Go have fun.”

“Thank you,” Naruto said as he ran out of the room. He went down the hallway and then into the parking lot outside to see Kiba chatting with a couple of their friends. He walked over to them, a smile on his face. 

“Iruka said yes.”

“Cool,” Kiba said. “We’re leaving now then.”

As they drove over to the place, Naruto stared out the window, peering at all the buildings of the town. He’d always liked the town, but he lived too far out to see it. 

Once everyone arrived there, they finally walked inside. The aroma of food floated around in the air, making his mouth water. Naruto looked around him at everything, his eyes sparkling with excitement. For about an hour, they ate there and then left. Afterwards, they walked out and strolled down the street, chatting amongst themselves. Naruto listened and talked while he looked around at the town. He took everything in as he stared at all the shops and places there were lining the street. He started to fall behind the group a little, trying to see all there was in the town. 

But then, he smelled something in the air. 

Naruto sniffed it. The scent was hypnotizing and made him lose all sense of reason. It wasn’t nearly as good as Sasuke’s, but as soon as he got a whiff of it his mind went blank. Without anyone noticing, he slipped away from the group and turned. He followed his nose, chasing down the smell.

He turned corner after corner almost at randomly. It was like he was on autopilot mode. His body just moved without him thinking while his mind remained in its daze. Soon, he ended up between two buildings in an alleyway.

When he snapped back into it, he looked around him confused. “Why am I here?” He wondered out loud. He was completely lost and not one person was in sight. It was eerily empty. He turned around to leave, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed someone else’s presence. 

The hair on the back of his neck bristled. 

“Who’s there?” He shouted. Suddenly, he heard a faint laughter as someone stepped from the shadows in the front of the alley.

“Look what I caught,” the man said. “A mutt was stupid enough to stumble into my little trap.”

Naruto took a step back and stared at where the voice came from. The first thing he noticed about the man was the blade that shone in his hand. And then as his eyes traveled up to his face, he saw red eyes shining through the darkness of the shadows. 

“Vampire,” he said lowly. A growl sounded in the back of his throat. The man walked forward to him, going at a slow pace as he twirled the blade in his hand. 

“Correct.” 

Naruto clenched his hand into a fist. His claws threatened to come out as he felt himself starting to shift. He gripped his wrist painfully tight as an attempt to stop it. He knew that if he turned now, he wouldn’t be able to control it. His breathing became ragged as he controlled himself. By now, the man was already nearing him. With no chance of escaping, the only option left was to fight. 

Naruto looked up to him, but he was suddenly gone. Acting on instinct, he quickly turned around to see the man behind him a few inches away from him with his blade raised in the air. Before he could bring it down upon him, Naruto dodged and managed to scratch him. But when he backed up, he saw that it was just his clothes that took most of the damage.

The man merely looked down at his tattered shirt, saying nothing. Then suddenly, he lunged at Naruto, taking him by surprise. Naruto tried to avoid the attack, but the knife seemed to follow his movements and sliced his arm. 

Naruto backed away, but the man continued after him, not slowing down in his assault. He dodged the knife as it cut through the air, but it nicked him every few seconds. 

Naruto bit down on his tongue in a final attempt to hold his other side back, but after a while when he started to grow tired, he couldn’t control it anymore. His vision heightened while he felt his eyes change and his claws grew longer. But before he fully shifted, Naruto dug his claws into his hand. 

_Don’t turn_ , he told himself. Blood started to leak from where he had pierced his own skin. Taking a deep breath, he looked back to the man. He had an amused look on his face while he watched Naruto.

“Out of all the mutts I’ve fought, you’re the only one that hasn’t shifted. It doesn’t matter though, cause like the rest of them, you’ll be dead soon.” With that, he moved so fast it looked like he had disappeared again. But Naruto was expecting that. He could see his movements clearly now. 

Instead of moving out the way, he turned around just as the man appeared behind him. He shifted as the blade went through his shirt into his shoulder. Naruto didn’t bat an eye at it though. While the blade was stuck in him, he grabbed a hold of the man’s wrist and held him while he brought his other hand down over the man’s chest.

This time, his claws connected with flesh and four lines of blood showed through his shirt. Surprised, the man quickly twisted the blade in his shoulder and backed away as Naruto flinched at the pain. 

Now, the man had a look of irritation on his face while he stared at Naruto.

“Why isn’t it working on you yet?” 

Naruto growled at him. He moved to attack him, but his body felt numb. He ignored it and charged at him again, but then his legs suddenly stopped. They wouldn’t move anymore, along with him arms and hands. His body refused to move. Naruto looked up at the man. 

“What’d you do to me?” He managed to say. His throat felt scratchy and his head started to get muddled. 

The man walked over to him, regaining his composure. “I would tell you, but what’s the point when you’re going to be dead in less than a minute.” Naruto tried to move any part of his body, but he felt frozen in place. Soon the man was standing in front of him, the blade glinting in the light.

He stepped closer to Naruto, and then thrust the blade into his abdomen. Naruto’s eyes widened. A sharp pain flooded him, but he refused to make a sound. When he withdrew the blade, Naruto fell to his knees on the ground. His vision blurred and for a second everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke stared down at his notebook in front of him, but the words he read weren’t processing. He thought that once everyone had left, he would be able to concentrate, but he still couldn’t. Sighing, he closed his book and stood up just as Kakashi walked into the library. 

“You’re leaving early today,” he mentioned.

“It’s Friday.”

“You still never leave this early.”

He didn’t say anything else to Kakashi as he picked up his stuff and began to walk out. Before he could reach the door, Kakashi stopped him.

“You’ve seem to be unfocused lately,” he said.

“So?”

“Is everything okay?”

Sasuke huffed and passed by Kakashi. “I don’t need you to ask me that everyday. I’m fine.”

“I’m just making sure you’re okay, especially with Itachi back.”

Sasuke froze. He turned around and faced him again. “How do you know about Itachi?”

“News travels fast.”

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. “How long have you known?”

“Since Tuesday.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that he was coming back earlier?” He demanded. Kakashi only shrugged. Sasuke turned around again, a frown forming on his face. 

“It doesn’t matter I guess since he should be leaving now.” As his hand touched the door, Sasuke suddenly stopped in his tracks. A feeling of dread stabbed his chest, leaving him short of breath. His hand gripped the door handle as the skin over his stomach started to tingle and slightly grow warm. 

“Sasuke?”

He abruptly yanked the doors open and sped out of the room. Worry rose up within him as he exited the school and used his speed to get to the town. He didn’t know what was happening or where to go exactly, but he knew that he needed to hurry. 

_Naruto._ That was the only thing going through his mind. Somehow, he just knew it was about him. When he reached the center of the city, he looked around, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He searched until he suddenly realized where Naruto had to be. Quickly, he took off down the sidewalk and went towards the far edge of town where no one else would be. 

The moment he turned the corner into the first alley, his breath caught in his throat and his blood went cold. Naruto kneeled on the ground with his eyes closed as a man stood over him and gripped the collar of his shirt. Blood stained his shirt and cuts showed all over his body. A knife the size of his forearm hovered in the air next to Naruto’s neck, but then the man paused his movements and turned around to Sasuke.

When he let go of him, Naruto fell onto the ground and hardly moved a muscle. The man then pointed the blade in Sasuke’s direction. 

“Who are you?” His eyes examined Sasuke, but once their eyes met, he lowered the knife. “You’re Itachi’s brother, aren’t you?”

Sasuke didn’t say anything. Anger surged up in him as he stared at Naruto on the ground. He walked towards the man calmly.

“I’m sorry, but this is my kill. I don’t care if you’re Itachi’s brother or n–“ Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke took him by surprise and slammed him into the brick wall next to them. 

“What do you mean _your kill_?” His voice was low and threatening as he spoke. He pinned the man against the wall and pushed him back against it. Grasping his neck, he tightened his grip and moved him up the wall until his feet were dangling above the ground. Then, the man suddenly kicked him and swung his knife at the arm that Sasuke used to hold him on the wall. 

Once he was released, the man immediately created distance between him and Sasuke. Coughing and gasping in air, he touched his neck. 

“What are you doing?” He demanded. 

As he was trying to catch his breath again, Sasuke sped behind him grabbed his arm again. He twisted it until the man finally let go of his knife. It clanked against the asphalt as it fell and hit the ground. The man escaped from him once again, but without his knife. 

Sasuke stared at it on the ground and then picked it up. He looked at the man again, who now had resentful look on his face. Sasuke took a step towards him, but paused as he heard Naruto groan behind him. He glanced behind him and watched as Naruto curled into himself and then laid still on the ground, not moving a single muscle. Forgetting all about the man, he walked to him and crouched down next to him. 

“Naruto,” he said gently. There was no response. He lowered his hand to his head, but hesitated. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to touch him. He took his hand back and stared at him. 

“I’ll take care of this,” he whispered. He stood back up and focused his eyes back on the other vampire.

“Don’t tell me you’re doing this because of him. He’s just a mutt.” At hearing that word, Sasuke gripped the hilt of the blade even tighter. 

“Don’t call him that.” He sped to him and slashed at him with the blade in his hand, but the man had dodged it and grabbed his wrist in the moment. He twisted it and then pushed Sasuke to the wall to where his chest pressed against the hard brick.

“Out of respect for Itachi, I’ll kill you quickly.” The man pressed on Sasuke harder.

“Then, I’ll take care of the mutt slowly and painfully until he’s begging for death.”

Sasuke took a sharp breath in. It as like something within him snapped. Mustering all the strength he had, he loosened his hand from the man’s grip and turned abruptly on him. With no hesitation, he cut deep across the man’s chest. While he was weakened, Sasuke broke away from his hold and brought the knife up to his neck. In one sweep, he slashed his neck all the way through. It was silent for a few seconds before the man fell to the ground, dead. 

Sasuke dropped the blade next to him and went over to Naruto. He kneeled next to him and examined him. He was breathing, but his heartbeat was slow. Tentatively, Sasuke touched him and moved his arms to his side to see how hurt he was. As soon as he moved his hand out of the way, he saw that his stomach was wounded seriously. 

He breathed in calmly and gently touched it. Naruto suddenly jerked and his eyes instantly opened. Instead of their usual blue, they were orange and slit. Sasuke heard him growl as he pulled away. 

“I’m trying to help.”

Once he spoke, Naruto looked over to him and found his eyes. He settled down and reached over to him. Sasuke let him pull on his shirt while he touched the area around his injury to get a better look at it. Naruto flinched and tried to swat his hand away. 

“Hurts.”

“I know,” he said. “Just don’t move.” Once he finally got a good look at his injury, Sasuke felt worry rise in him. It was bad. He didn’t notice it before, but Naruto’s hands slightly shook while they gripped his shirt. He reached down and uncertainly stroked his hair. It seemed to work as Naruto relaxed into him. 

Sasuke stared down at him. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to fix him, or how to make him feel better any better. 

On the ground a few meters away from them, Naruto’s phone continuously rang and vibrated, but Sasuke ignored it. He ripped a part of his shirt off and gingerly placed it around his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. After a while, Naruto shifted and then moved.

“Stay still,” he said, but Naruto ignored him. He positioned himself where his head laid on Sasuke’s lap. His fingers moved up to Sasuke’s arm.

“You’re hurt,” he said weakly.

Sasuke glanced down at his arm to see a cut across his forearm. It was deep, but he hadn’t noticed it until now. 

“I’m fine.” 

“No.” Sasuke watched as Naruto pulled his injured arm closer to him. Then, he suddenly licked it. Sasuke remembered reading in the red-leathered book that werewolves could heal people that way. His heart beat sped up as he watched Naruto heal him. 

“Stop,” he said, but he made no attempt to stop him. He let him do it until he was pleased. As Naruto finished, Sasuke could hear footsteps approaching him. He became on edge again and unconsciously held Naruto closer to him. Sasuke prepared himself as someone rounded the corner. 

“Naruto!” Was the first thing he heard. When he got a good look at the person, he saw that it was just Iruka. He still didn’t let his guard down though. The moment Iruka laid eyes on him, confusion followed by alarm went through him eyes. 

“What happened?” He asked first, racing over to Naruto.

As he reached out to touch him, Sasuke reflexively avoided his touch and held Naruto closed. He could feel his eyes flashing red again.

“Sasuke,” he said sternly.

Naruto moved in his arms and looked up. “Iruka,” he mumbled. Sasuke reluctantly let him go so Iruka could get a look at him. 

“How’d this happen?” He asked, his voice grim as he observed Naruto.

“A vampire attacked him.”

“And what happened to that vampire?” Sasuke could hear the accusatory tone in his voice, but he ignored it.

“He’s over there,” Sasuke said as he pointed to his body. Iruka looked over to the vampire’s body that laid next to the wall. 

“Did Naruto do that?”

“No. I did.”

Iruka glanced away from Naruto and looked at him. “Why?”

Sasuke remained silent, staring at Naruto.

“Is he okay?” He responded instead.

“...yeah. He just needs to be treated and bandaged properly and then he’ll be fine.”

Sasuke nodded his head. He looked down to his hand and noticed that his hands were faintly shaking as his nails dug into the flesh of his palm. He still couldn’t calm himself down. Adrenaline was rushing his veins and his heart was beating faster than it ever had before. He glanced away to the side, away from. Naruto. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to be near Naruto now. 

“You take care of him. I’ll take care of the body,” he said. 

Iruka glanced at the body and then to him. He nodded back at him and didn’t say anything else while he lifted Naruto. As they walked away, Sasuke followed them with his eyes. When he could no longer hear the faint beat of Naruto’s heat, he knew he was completely alone in the alleyway now, except for the body. 

He still couldn’t get rid of the anxiety he felt in him. Sighing, he stood. _Everything’s fine. Naruto’s fine_. He repeated that in his mind as he walked over to the body.

.o0O0o.

Sasuke pulled over on the side of the road and got out of the car. He was about forty minutes out of town and away from the public eye. He walked over to his trunk and opened it up. The body lay neatly wrapped in a couple of trash bags that he got from the nearest convenience store. He pulled it out of his car and let it drop to the ground like a bag of stones.

Breathing heavily, he dragged it down to the pit he spotted a little ways away from the road. Strangely, he didn’t feel anything. No guilt, or shock at what he had done—nothing. If anything, he felt relieved and calm. Relieved that Naruto was okay, and calm because he knew that he would be fine. 

Just by remembering how helpless Naruto was as he curled into himself and held his stomach made waves of anger flow through Sasuke. He’d never felt such rage in his life until he saw Naruto hurt and bleeding like that. As he thought about it he clenched his teeth together and then threw the body in the pit harshly. 

He went back to his car and took out a bottle of lighter fluid and a box of matches from his trunk and went over to the pit again. After dousing it in the fluid, he threw the bottle in the pit too and dragged a match over the box. A small flame blossomed on the tip of it. Sasuke stared at the fire for a few seconds and then lowered his hand down. 

He threw it on the body and watched as it exploded into orange flames. He could feel the heat from it as he stood a couple meters away. Watching it burn, satisfaction grew in him. The fire illuminated in the dark and a reflection of it shone in Sasuke’s eyes as he gazed at it. 


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m fine. You can leave now,” Naruto said leaning against the wall to his bed. He watched as Iruka paced around his room, putting away anything that he found scattered around the floor and cleaning until the room was practically shining. At first, he thought it was entertaining to watch, but after the second hour it got old and annoying once Iruka started nagging him. 

He sighed and swung his feet over the edge of the bed, but before he could even stand, Iruka was in front of him, an admonishing look on his face. 

“What?”

“You’re staying in bed.”

“I’m just wanna go downstairs to get something to eat.”

“I can do that for you.”

Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m fine. Everything’s already healed.” Naruto moved his arm in a circle, twisted his torso, and even went as far as to press his hand harshly over his bandaged abdomen to prove his point. A sharp pain started in his side, but he ignored it and looked at Iruka again. 

“See. Perfectly fine.”

“Naruto, you were unconscious for three days. I don’t care what you say, you’re staying in this bed. Healed or not.” 

A frown set on his face as he saw the willful look in Iruka’s eyes. He laid back down on his bed and turned the opposite way to the window. Huffing, he pulled the blankets over his head and sulked. 

“Naruto,” Iruka said. With the cover over his head, his words sounds muffled to him. He remained silent until he couldn’t stand the quiet anymore.

“What?” He asked sluggishly.

“Can you come out from your covers so we can have a proper conversation?” He remained silent. He could hear Iruka sigh and sit down on the edge of the bed. The room lapsed in silence for minutes before Iruka stood once again. The floorboards creaked while he walked away from the bed, but Naruto ignored him and pushed his head into his pillow. 

Ever since he woke up a day ago, Iruka had been treating him delicately as if he was a piece of fragile porcelain that would break with a single touch. It annoyed Naruto more than anything. To him, he didn’t even feel like he was injured as much as Iruka made it out to be. Naruto wanted to tell him to stop worrying and making a big deal about it, but every time he was close to doing it, he imagined the face that Iruka made when he first opened his eyes, and then the words would fall frozen on tongue.

He’d never seen him look so miserable and panicked before. Just thinking of it made his gut clench. 

Breathing out, he changed his thoughts and focused on something else, but after a while his eyes started to grow heavier and he felt himself about to nod off. Then, his nose twitched as he smelled food. 

Wide awake once again, he pulled his covers off his head and peeked out from them to see that Iruka wasn’t in his room any longer. From the kitchen, he could hear the clanking of pans and a faint sizzling as Iruka cooked something.

While he had the chance, he sat up in his bed and placed his feet on the floor. He stood up and took a step towards his window. He swayed and wobbled on his legs, almost falling, but eventually he made it to the ledge. 

“Okay,” he said to himself. Using all his strength, he tried to slide the screen up, but it didn’t budge at all. He huffed and slouched over as he regained his breath. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t go up. His only escape route was now useless and he couldn’t come up with any other way to make it to the outside. Naruto sighed and sat down in front of the window. His arms were aching now and a faint throbbing started in his head. 

He bumped the back of his head against the wall and stared up at the window. The sky was blue and he could see the edges of the trees sway in the breeze, almost like they were mocking him. Naruto frowned and looked forward just in time to see Iruka coming up the stairs with a tray full of food. His mouth started to water with just one glance and his stomach growled. 

“I thought I told you to stay in bed.”

“I wanted to look out the window.”

“And you couldn’t of done that from your bed.” Naruto shrugged, staring at the food he had. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until now. Iruka only sighed at him and gave a stern look.

“Bed. Now.”

Naruto groaned and stood up off the ground. He wobbled back to the bed and plopped back down on it as he looked to Iruka expectantly. Finally, he handed the food and in seconds Naruto was scarfing down as much as he could without choking himself. When he finished, he pushed the empty dishes back to Iruka and laid down on his bed feeling content.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds while Iruka sat down on the edge of his bed. 

“So,” Iruka started to speak, but then hesitated. Naruto sat up and looked over at him to see his eyes trained blankly on the wall. 

“What?”

Iruka shifted and directed his gaze to the floor as a complex look appeared on his face. “Sasuke...is he the one you were talking about? Your soulmate?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s the one that stabbed you in the hand that one time?” Naruto glanced at the floor as a faint smile started to show on his face. He subconsciously started to rub his fingers over the hand that Sasuke punctured while he remembered when they first met.

“Yeah. But remember that he did save me so you can’t punish him or anything,” he added in. 

“I wasn’t going to anyway,” Iruka said. 

He was quiet for a while, but Naruto could see that he wanted to say something. He leaned against the wall behind his bed and crossed his legs as he stared at Iruka’s back. 

“What is it?” He asked. Iruka sighed and turned around to face him. 

“He’s a vampire, Naruto. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. So what?”

“Vampires and werewolves don’t get along. That should’ve made itself clear to you four days ago when a vampire tried to kill you for no reason.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to hate them. Plus, Sasuke is different. He did save me.” Iruka nodded and turned to glance at him. It looked like he was holding something back, but he didn’t say anything. 

“Just be careful, Naruto.”

“I’m always careful.” A smile came to his face, but Naruto could still see the worry in his eyes. He looked down at his watch and sighed. 

“I’ll leave you alone now,” Iruka said as he stood. He walked towards the door, but then paused as he remembered something. He went over to the window and fiddled with a latch on the side of it. Naruto heard a click as he undid it.

“There. You can open this now if you want.”

Naruto stared at it in wonder. “I didn’t even know it did that.”

“Maybe if you spent a little more time in your own house then you would have noticed it.” He smiled at him as he walked to the door again. 

“Maybe.” 

With one last glance at him, Iruka stepped out and closed the door after him. When he left, Naruto fell back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He thought that Iruka would be more against Sasuke being his soulmate, but he was surprisingly calm about it. 

He could only recall a few little things from when he was attacked, but he knew that something had to happen for Iruka not to be so critical about the fact that Sasuke was a vampire. He bit his lip thinking about it, but soon he let go of those thoughts and sat up again in his bed. He placed his feet on the ground and stood up on shaky legs. 

One step at a time, he walked down the stairs and went outside for the first time in a four days. Smiling, he inhaled the fresh air and savored the feel of it against his skin. Slowly, he walked between the line of trees leading into the woods.

.o0O0o.

Before the sun had even started to rise, Naruto stood in front of the mirror inside his room, examining himself. By now, all the small cuts he’d gotten were completely healed and barely left a scar. 

He slipped off his shirt and stared at the bandage that wrapped around his stomach. Iruka told him not to take it off just yet, but he didn’t see any blood on it so Naruto thought it was fine. He gave the bandage a hard tug so that it loosened up and then he unwrapped it from his stomach. As the bandage fell onto the floor, he looked at the scar that now remained on his stomach.

Tracing his finger over it, a frown slowly came to his face. He always wanted a scar since he thought it would prove how tough he was, but looking at it the only thing that it proved was how weak he was. He balled his hand into a fist as bits and pieces of his memory stared to return to him. When the vampire attacked him, he fought back but then froze. The only reason he was alive was because of Sasuke. A bitter feeling spreading through him, he tore his eyes away from the mirror and walked to his closet. 

Looking for his other shirt, he threw pieces of clothing back onto the floor until he found the one he was looking for. Now that Iruka organized his room, he found it harder to find everything now.

He got dressed and went downstairs. Once he saw his book bag sitting by the door, covered in a thin layer of dust, he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. He went outside and waited on the porch for Iruka.

Ever since two days when Iruka told him that he could go back to school, he’s been restless yet excited. He couldn’t even get a wink of sleep the night before. His fingers tapped on the porch while he waited. 

After thirty minutes, he finally saw Iruka pull up in his car. He jumped off the porch and got in quickly. 

“Well someone’s excited.”

“It’s been forever since I’ve last been to school,” he said, his voice full of excitement. “Did anyone ask about me?”

“A few.” 

Naruto leaned back in the seat, a smile spread wide across his face. After a while, he finally saw the school standing at a distance on the hill. He was only gone for a week, but it felt much longer as he stared at it. 

As soon as Iruka parked the car, he was out of the car in a flash. He went into the building, but barely anyone was there since it was so early. Halfway up the stairs, he paused as his hand gripped the railing. Inhaling, he went up and turned the corner, making his way to the library. Seconds went by while Naruto just stared at the doors. 

He finally made up his mind and pushed them open. He went towards the back of the room until he could see Sasuke’s silhouette through the gaps of the books lined up in front of him. With one last deep breath, he stepped out from the book case that blocked him and stood in front of the table Sasuke was at.

Sasuke paused and then slowly raised his head until their eyes met. His heart sped and it felt like butterflies were fluttering in his stomach. Sasuke just stared at him, not saying anything. Exhaling, Naruto tentatively took a step closer to him.

“Hey,” he said at last.

Sasuke glanced back down at the book in front of him. At this point, Naruto wasn’t surprised that Sasuke decided to ignore him, but it still did annoy him to no end. He opened his mouth, ready to argue with him, but suddenly Sasuke spoke.

“Hey.”

Naruto froze mid step and stared at him blankly, surprised that he responded and that it wasn’t an insult. Slowly, a small smile pulled at his lips as a warm feeling spread in his chest. He took a few more steps towards Sasuke and then sat down in front of him, happiness filling every inch of his body. 

In the past week, he’d been attacked, injured seriously, and imprisoned to his room for almost four days, but if that was what it took to get him to this moment, then Naruto was glad for it. It would all be worth it to him if he could at least have one civil conversation with Sasuke.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto tapped his fingers against the table as he thought hard of what to say. Usually he would’ve been able to talk to people without a problem, but with Sasuke it was different. He didn’t want to say anything stupid or make a fool out of himself anymore than he already has. He went through a whole list of topics through his head, but he didn’t think that any of them would work. 

“Stop.”

Naruto abruptly looked across the table to Sasuke. His eyes pointed at Naruto’s hand as he continuously drummed his fingers against the surface of the table. 

Naruto lifted his hand and placed it in his lap, trying not to annoy Sasuke any further. They lapsed back into silence and the only thing Naruto could hear was the flip of the paper as Sasuke turned the pages in his textbook. He twiddled with his thumbs under the table while he just sat there. 

After a while, Naruto came to the decision to not the interrupt the peaceful quiet they had between them and laid his head down on the table. Not talking bothered him at first, but now he found it calming. He snuck glances at Sasuke while he just read his book. His face had no trace of emotion on it, but Naruto could vaguely see that he looked relaxed. 

Staring at him, Naruto traced his features with his eyes, but then suddenly he made contact with ebony eyes. They stared at each other for a second before Naruto swiftly looked away at the floor. He could still feel his gaze drilling into him, but he ignored it.

“Are you healed?” Sasuke suddenly asked. He was taken off guard by it, but he eventually answered. 

“Yeah. Now I just have a scar.” Sasuke didn’t say any else, though he didn’t look back down at his book again. Naruto looked up at him.

“Is your arm better?” He asked. One of the only things he remembered was that Sasuke’s arm was injured. When Naruto tried to glance at it to see for himself, Sasuke slipped it under the table away from his view.

“I was never hurt.”

“Yes, you were. I saw it clearly with my own eyes.” Sasuke glanced back down at his stuff on the table. 

“Well I was too busy saving you to notice that I was even hurt.”

Naruto sat up in his seat and looked at him intently. “I didn’t need you to save me.”

Sasuke scoffed. “Really? Cause the way I saw it you were two seconds away from having your head separated from your body.” Naruto frowned and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Only because he did something to me. Before you came I was actually doing well against him, but then something happened and I couldn’t move my body anymore.” Remembering the sensation that came upon him back them, a chill went up his back. It felt as if his body turned into stone and all his nerves were suddenly cut off. 

“Belladonna.”

“What?” Naruto looked up at Sasuke, a confused look on his face. 

“He paralyzed you using belladonna,” he said evenly as if it was a common fact.

“What’s that?” Sasuke sighed and lifted his head to where their eyes met. 

“It’s a plant. It’s very toxic to humans, but even more so to werewolves since their senses are heightened. It stalls the brain process so you lose all control of any thought or reason and then paralyzes you.”

“Oh. That explains why I went to that alley I guess.”

“Has no one ever taught you what your weaknesses are?” 

Naruto glanced down at the table while he thought about it. Somewhere along the way he was sure that Iruka and even Jiraiya said something about it, but he just never listened. 

“Not really,” he said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I just thought I had to avoid getting stabbed and shot at.”

“Well you’re already doing a terrible job at that.”

“I’m trying my hardest,” he said defensively.

“Not hard enough.” His mood turned sour, he frowned at Sasuke not saying a word. When he got tired of the silence he leaned back in his chair and glanced out the window.

“You’re kind of an asshole.”

“I know. You told me last time.” Naruto smiled remembering it. Now, he found it somewhat amusing looking back on their last conversation. As his eyes went back to Sasuke, he saw a peaceful look on his face rather than the irritated expression he was used to seeing. While a calming atmosphere settled in the room, Naruto relaxed his shoulders and rested his head on his hand. He didn’t think that this conversation would actually turn out to be good. There wasn’t any serious arguing this time and Naruto didn’t feel beyond pissed either. If anything, he felt happy. He wanted to have more moments like this with him, but Naruto knew that would be difficult, but staring at Sasuke, he suddenly thought of something.

“Can you teach me about them?” He asked optimistically.

“About what?”

“My weaknesses.” Sasuke put down his pencil and directed his piercing stare at Naruto. 

“Why would I do that?”

Thinking about a plausible answer, he bit down on his lip.He knew that Sasuke would decline instantly if he told him the only reason he asked was just to spend time with him, so he thought of something else. 

“So I could learn about them more. And then maybe I would be able to protect myself so you don’t have to save me as much,” he finally said. He fully expected him to say no, but for a while Sasuke didn’t say anything and just stared at him. Naruto waited in anticipation for him to answer, but before he could speak the bell rang. He flinched at the noise. 

When he looked back up to Sasuke he saw that his books were already packed away and he was standing. He walked past him without saying a word. Naruto suppressed a sigh as he watched his chance of getting closer to Sasuke slip away from him. 

He stood from his seat and turned to leave but paused as he saw Sasuke standing by the door.

“I’ll do it,” he said. He paused and looked down at the ground. “Just meet me at the back courtyard during lunch.” It looked like he was starting to regret agreeing already, but he didn’t take it back. Sasuke turned back around and exited, not even giving Naruto a chance to say anything.

Naruto smiled, relishing in the moment. He walked out of the library and went down to his classroom in high spirits.

.o0O0o.

Just as the second bell rang, Naruto stepped into his class and sat down. As he listened to the teacher drone on, he felt overwhelmed by all the information they had already covered. He scrambled to take notes and tried to actually pay attention, but before he knew it class was dismissed and he got almost nothing. The next few classes followed like the first one until he finally reached the last class he had before lunch.

Soon, he would see Sasuke again. He was thrilled about it, but he still couldn’t help the apprehension that built up within him. His mind went back and forth between Sasuke and school until he eventually had to focus his thoughts entirely on biology. 

He read through a few lines in his textbook before he lost focus again when he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. He turned his head to see Kiba starting at him. When their eyes met, Naruto saw him try and mouth something, but he couldn’t understand any of it. He narrowed his eyes and mouthed ‘what’ back to him. 

“Naruto, the board’s up here.” Naruto faced forward as he heard his teacher speak. He nodded his head and started to write stuff down, though he could still feel Kiba’s gaze on him. As he turned a page in his notebook, a piece of balled up paper suddenly fell on his desk. He glanced at Kiba and then discreetly opened the note. 

‘Are you okay?’

Naruto inaudibly sighed as he stared down at the scrap of paper. He was tired of being asked that now. It wasn’t like he was about to die. 

He wrote down ‘yeah’ on the paper and tossed it back to Kiba when the teacher wasn’t looking. Only a few seconds had passed before he found the paper on his desk again. He unraveled it.

‘What happened’ 

‘Nothing,’ he scrawled on the paper. After Kiba read it when he sent it back, he gave Naruto a quizzical look. Naruto ignored him and kept his eyes ahead of him. The balled piece of paper came to his desk again, but this time he only put it to the side of him and didn’t bother to open it. 

He paid attention in class and diligently took notes, ignoring all the other things Kiba threw at his desk. Since he’d been gone for almost a week, Naruto felt completely lost in class now, though it wasn’t much of a change from before. When the bell rang at last, he gathered his stuff and stood. Not even a second later, Kiba was already by his side, asking questions.

“What happened last week?”

Naruto took his stuff and walked through the door. “Like I said before, nothing.”

“But you suddenly disappeared on Friday and didn’t show up, and then Iruka didn’t come to school either for a few days.”

“I got a little hurt.”

“A little? You skipped school for a whole week. It couldn’t of been as little as you say it was.”

Naruto groaned, annoyed by his pestering and stopped to look at him. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

“Because I feel guilty,” he mumbled, shifting his gaze down to the floor. “I was supposed to keep an eye on you and I did a terrible job and so you got hurt.”

“That was my fault for wandering off.”

“Maybe a little, but I still feel bad about it.”

“It’s fine. I’m already healed so it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Kiba nodded. “Okay.” 

Once he saw that Kiba didn’t look as guilty as he did before, he turned around and started walking again. He went at a fast pace, excited about his lesson with Sasuke. He never that learning about his weaknesses would be the time to bring them together, but Naruto was still happy about it. He passed the cafeteria on his way to the back courtyard, but stopped when he suddenly felt Kiba yank him back by his book bag.

He steadied himself and looked back at him. “What?”

“The cafeteria’s here. You passed it.”

“Yeah, I’m going somewhere else for lunch.”

“Where? With who?”

“Um..” Not wanting to tell Kiba where he was really going, he came up with something else as quick as he could, “...I’m going to the bathroom by myself.” Kiba looked at him strangely and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak he turned and sprinted away from him. “I won’t be back, see you later,” he waved as he went down the hallway.

Finally, he made it out of the building and walked around the side until he saw a small courtyard nestled in the back of it. Sitting on one of the marble benches in the shade, he saw Sasuke by himself. Naruto smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. 

“What took you so long?” Was the first thing he said. 

“I was on the other side of campus.”

“Werewolves are fast creatures. You could probably get here in less than a minute if you wanted to.”

Naruto sat down next to him. “I’ll get here quicker next time.”

Sasuke reached into his bag and looked for something. While he did that, Naruto felt his stomach start to growl. He could faintly smell someone else’s lunch on the other side of campus. It tempted him, but Naruto clutched the edge of the bench and stayed seated even when his mouth started to water at the smell of meat. 

_I’ll eat when I get home_ , he told himself. When he glanced over at Sasuke he saw him with a medium-sized leather book in his hand as he flipped through pages. That was the only thing he saw though other than his bag. 

“You aren’t going to eat anything?” He asked.

“No.”

“Can vampires only eat...or drink blood?”

“No, I’m just not hungry.”

“Oh.” Naruto stared at him for a while before he lifted his hand up to the collar of his shirt. Jokingly, he pulled it down to expose his neck and shoulder and tilted his head to the left as he was about to tell a vampire pun, but when his eyes met Sasuke’s, the words died on his tongue. A ravenous look filled his eyes as they stared intently at his neck. He shifted closer to him, but then paused. Naruto swallowed as he watched Sasuke. 

He knew that teasing him probably wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t help it as he closed his eyes and tilted his head even more. With his eyes closed, he could only smell Sasuke’s scent now. He inhaled deeply, waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did he opened his eyes to see Sasuke farther away from him then he was before and a glare pointed his way.

“Don’t do that,” he said irately.

“I was only kidding.” 

Sasuke huffed and slammed the book he held shut. He grabbed his stuff to leave, but Naruto stood and took a hold of his wrist and held him back. As Sasuke turned to face him, Naruto let go almost instantly and took a few steps back. 

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“Do what again? Show me your neck like that or touch me?” He asked sharply. 

“Both.” Sasuke sighed and stood there for a few minutes. 

“Don’t make me regret this more than I already do,” he said walking back to the bench. He sat down it. Naruto suppressed the smile he felt and sat on the bench next to him. 

“What do you want to know?” 

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought about it.

“Everything.” 

Sasuke looked at him without saying a word. Soon, he exhaled and pointed his eyes in the other direction away from Naruto. 

“Fine.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Silver hinders your ability to heal and weakens you. Wolfsbane is a plant that can also weaken you, but it’s more dangerous to you than silver is.” Naruto gazed blankly at Sasuke while he spoke. He tried to listen and let his words process, but after a while everything he said started to go over his head. It was distracting for him being so close to Sasuke like this. He still felt like Sasuke would snap at him at any moment, walk away, and then go back to ignoring him like he did before. So he just settled for staring at him. 

Sasuke’s eyes were aimed in front of him at the side of the building as he listed everything he knew. Naruto found it amazing how he knew so much and could explain it without the slightest hesitation. He always thought that Sasuke was smart, but this proved it. Shifting on the bench, Naruto discreetly scooted closer to him until he reached the edge. Then, he noticed that Sasuke was no longer talking anymore. 

“Why’d you stop? Was that it?”

“You’re not listening, so what’s the point in speaking.”

“I was listening. You were talking about silver and some plant.”

“That was five minutes ago.”

“Oh,” Naruto said. “Well I was listening five minutes ago.” Sasuke sighed and started to grab his book bag again. Before he could stand to leave, Naruto quickly thought of something to say to keep him there. 

“Wait, I have a question!”

“I don’t care.”

“Why’d you save me that night?” It was the first thing that popped into his head. The question had been on his mind for so long now and he always wondered about that. When he saw Sasuke pause for a split second, he knew he had him. “Did you do it because you actually like me, or was it something else?” Sasuke instantly spun around on his heel, a stony look on his face. 

“I didn’t save you because I like you.”

“Then why’d you do it?” For the first time, Sasuke seemed to be stuck. He looked as if he was trying to find something to say to justify his actions, but he remained silent. Naruto smiled at having stumped him. A sense of pride mixed with satisfaction rose in his chest. 

“What does wolfsbane do again?” He asked, changing the subject. He hoped the question would keep him from walking away, and it did. At the sudden change of topic, Sasuke actually looked relieved. He glanced away from Naruto to the ground. 

“It burns your skin on direct contact and can kill you within hours if ingested.” Naruto tensed at hearing his answer. Now he wished that he had listened to what Sasuke said before. 

“So how do I become invincible to everything?”

“You don’t.”

“But how am I supposed to survive if a million things can kill me?“

“It’s not a million things, you’re just being dramatic. You just have to expose yourself to the less lethal things and get used to them.”

“What about the more lethal things?”

“Learn how to avoid them.” Naruto never realized before how many things could kill or impair him. It was way more than he expected. He looked back up to Sasuke.

“If I ate wolfsbane everyday could I become immune to it?” Sasuke blankly stared at him for a few seconds before he spoke. 

“Why don’t you try it.” After saying that, he turned around and walked away back into the building. Not long after he left, the bell rang and Naruto stood. Smiling, he went inside to his next class and sat. His stomach growled continuously throughout the whole thing, but he still didn’t regret not eating during lunch. Not only did he get to talk with Sasuke, but he learned more about werewolves, even if he wasn’t listening all that much. After class had ended, he found Kiba in the hallway and went up to him. 

“Hey, do you know what belladonna and wolfsbane is?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

Naruto shook his head. “No reason.” _I’m probably the only one that didn’t know what that was,_ he thought. Even Sasuke, a vampire, knew all of that and more. He exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Naruto looked to Kiba with a frown starting to show on his face. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said abruptly. “I thought we went over this earlier.”

“I know, I’m just making sure.”

“Like I said a million times before, I’m fine.” 

“Okay, no need to get so worked up.” 

“I’m not getting worked up!” Naruto stopped walking as Kiba looked at him. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and glanced away at the ground. “Sorry,” he said, “but I’m fine.” He walked away from Kiba and went to his locker. Standing there, his fingers tightened around the straps of his book bag as he calmed himself down. _“Are you okay?”_ He was starting to hate those words now. They were nothing more than a reminder to how powerless he was. That along with the scar that now extended over his abdomen. 

As the day slowly dragged on, that was all he could think about. When the last class was finally over, he trudged to Iruka’s room, ready to go home. At the moment, all he wanted to do was walk among the trees by his house to clear his mind. Stepping into the classroom room, he saw Iruka talking to someone else, so he just sat down at one of the desk without a word to him. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, though he could feel Iruka staring at him. 

When it was just them, the room went silent except for the sound of Iruka’s pen scratching against paper, but then it suddenly stopped. Naruto fiddled around with a few books on his desk as he blankly stared down at the desk. Then Iruka spoke. 

“Naruto, are you okay?” And there were those words again. And he couldn’t stand it anymore. 

Huffing, he slammed his stuff down on the desk. “I wish that everyone would stop asking me that! I’m fine!” He could feel himself start to lose control with his anger flaring, but he balled his hand into a fist and slowed his breathing. Iruka looked at him and slowly stood. 

“Just calm down,” he said.

Naruto ignored him and stormed out of the room. By now, the hallways were empty with not a single person in them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but feel angry. He was perfectly fine, yet everyone kept treating him as if he wasn’t. Every minute someone was asking him if he was okay, and Naruto was beyond annoyed by it. It made him feel weak and he hated that feeling more than anything. Frustrated, he turned the corner and kicked the side of the lockers. The sound echoed through the hall and a dent was left in the side of it. He tried to control himself, but he could still feel anger flowing through his body. He felt as if he were about to lose control at any second, but then he smelled a familiar scent. Sasuke. 

In an instant, all the irritation he felt started to leave him. He inhaled deeply and smoothed his hair back. Without any thought, his legs started moving on their own towards Sasuke. Soon, he saw him by his locker as he rounded the corner. He didn’t turn to look, but Naruto could tell that Sasuke knew he was there. 

“What do you want?” He asked.

Naruto shook his head and took a few steps closer to him. “Nothing.”

Sasuke took some books out of his locker and closed the door. Looking at him, Naruto started to feel better. He was probably the only person that didn’t treat him as if he was a weak and defenseless child. 

“Then why are you–“

“Fight me,” he said cutting Sasuke off. The words left his mouth before he could think, though he didn’t regret saying them. 

“No,” Sasuke said without any hesitation. Naruto leaned against the lockers and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Why? You scared you going to lose?”

Sasuke turned to face him. “No. I would never lose to you.”

“Then fight me.”

“Are you that desperate for me to kick your ass?”

Naruto shrugged. He didn’t know why he was so adamant on fighting Sasuke himself. Maybe he would be able to hold his ground against him, and then that way he would see that he wasn’t as powerless as he thought. Naruto didn’t know anymore. He just wanted to do something other than stand around and feel sorry for himself. Fighting seemed to be the answer to that in his mind, and he knew Sasuke wouldn’t hold back. 

“I won’t be the one losing,” he said. Sasuke only stared at him before a faint smirk started to form on his face. Blankly gazing at him, Naruto was taken off guard by it. Out of all the things he expected Sasuke to do, that didn’t even cross his mind. It sent shivers down his back as Sasuke walked towards him. 

“Fine. Let’s go,” he said. Naruto wasn’t sure if something was wrong with Sasuke, or if he just wanted to give him a beating for some reason. _The second one,_ Naruto decided. 

Following behind him, they walked outside. He didn’t think that Sasuke would actually agree to this, but he was still excited about it, even with the menacing look on Sasuke’s face. Once they reached the grassy area behind the school, Naruto stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” He asked, to which Sasuke only rolled his eyes. 

“Just come at me already.”

“Okay.” He surveyed Sasuke and then charged at him, hoping to pin him down. But before he knew what was happening, he was lying in the damp grass on his back, a sharp pain in his shoulder. When he looked up at Sasuke, he was smirking while he stared down at him.

“Was that it?”

Naruto quickly sat up and got back on his feet. “No.” Again, he went at him hoping to take him off guard, but Sasuke suddenly moved out the way and took hold of his arm, harshly twisting it behind his back. He flinched and stumbled forward as Sasuke shoved him away from him. Looking at him, Naruto never would’ve expected him to be so good at fighting. He didn’t let it hinder his confidence though. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead while he took in a few deep breaths. 

He then lunged at Sasuke again like he did the last few times. This time though, he managed to dodge Sasuke’s attempts to throw him back on the ground. After a few minutes of dodging, he fell into a rhythm and could avoid Sasuke with ease. In that moment, he didn’t feel as weak as everyone made him feel. He felt strong. He backed away from Sasuke, smiling as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

“Getting tired?” Sasuke asked arrogantly. 

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he said. 

This time, Sasuke was the one to charge at him first. It took him by surprise at how quickly he moved. He could clearly see his attack coming, but instead of moving out the way, he let Sasuke hit him and moved in closer to him. His stomach painfully throbbed, but he ignored the pain and grabbed his shirt, catching Sasuke off guard. Taking advantage of the moment, he grabbed his arm at the last moment and managed to throw him off balance. Together, they fell onto the ground. Using all his strength, Naruto pinned him to the grass and grinned at seeing the surprised look on his face. 

“I did it! I pinned you.”

“And I beat you four times in a row.”

“Yeah, but who’s the one that has you pinned now?” He asked proudly. 

Sasuke sighed and tried to shake Naruto off of him. “Get off me.”

“Fine,” He mumbled. Naruto reluctantly complied and started to stand, but then his foot slipped on the grass. He fell back onto Sasuke, but this time he couldn’t catch himself. The next thing he knew, his mind went blank as his lips accidentally touched Sasuke’s. In an instant, an intense sensation traveled through his body and chills went down his back. When he opened his eyes, he looked down to see Sasuke with a shocked look on his face. Feeling Sasuke’s lips on his, his heart sped up and he couldn’t focus anymore. Slowly, he felt himself loosing control again as a million thoughts started to fill his mind. 

_Mark him. Take him. Make him yours._ Succumbing to his thoughts, he pressed his lips more against Sasuke’s while he gripped his wrists and pushed them into the ground. _More. Mark him._ Naruto brushed his tongue against his lips and then moved on down to his neck. He deeply breathed in Sasuke’s scent and pushed his nose into the crook of his neck. _Mark him._ He opened his mouth and grazed his teeth over his skin. Just as he was about to bite down, he felt a harsh kick to his stomach that made him lose his grip on Sasuke. In a second, he was suddenly on his back once again, sprawled out on the grass.


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke quickly sat up on the grass and stood, his hair falling in his eyes. While he was sparring with Naruto he didn’t even break a sweat, but now after Naruto had kissed him he could hardly catch his breath. His heart beat uncontrollably in his chest and a warmth coursed through his body as he looked to Naruto on the ground. Holding his stomach where Sasuke kneed him, Naruto groaned and sat up.

“You didn’t need to kick me so hard,” he said as if nothing had happened. Sasuke tore his eyes away from him and brushed a few blades of grass off his shirt. For one of the first times in his life, he was too shocked to talk or even think any coherent thought. The only thing on his mind now was how Naruto kissed him. That and how he wanted so badly to kiss him back. His body pushed for him to do it and he almost did, but then he regained control of himself and realized what he was about to do. So he kicked Naruto off of him. Sasuke brushed his hair out of his face only for it to fall back. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why’re you so quiet?”

“You kissed me,” he said at last.

“It was an accident.” His neck started to tingle at the memory of Naruto’s lips trailing down it. When he glanced down to his wrists, he could see the start of faint bruises left by Naruto’s grip. 

“An accident? Maybe at first before you practically shoved your tongue down my throat.” Sasuke fought off a blush at just saying the words. Naruto’s cheeks went red as he rubbed the back of his head and looked away from Sasuke with a somewhat guilty look on his face. 

“I couldn’t help it.”

Sasuke turned away from Naruto and grabbed his stuff from off the ground. With his thoughts being scattered to the point where he couldn’t think straight, he didn’t trust himself to be around Naruto any longer. He walked back towards the school with quick steps, hoping that Naruto wouldn’t try and stop him. At this point if he did try to hold him back, Sasuke wasn’t sure if he would be able to say no to him. But much to his delight, Naruto didn’t do anything to make him stay. Not one word was said or action taken. Sasuke didn’t question it and stepped into the building. All he wanted now was to go home and find peace of mind again. There, he would be able to focus his thoughts again and sort through everything that happened. His hand gripped the strap of his bag. All he wanted was to feel in control once again, but from the moment he first met Naruto, everything started spinning out of control. It was like his thoughts, words, and actions weren’t even his anymore. 

Walking down the corridor, he could hear a set of footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. As he turned the corner, he saw Iruka going in the other direction to where he just left Naruto. He didn’t say anything, but Sasuke could see how he felt towards him with a glance at his eyes. He didn’t care that Iruka distrusted though, it was the last thing on his mind. Ignoring him, he continued forward down the hall. 

“Sasuke.” At hearing the voice behind him, he took one last step and paused. He didn’t turn to face him, but Iruka didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Sasuke didn’t know what he expected him to say, but in his mind he imagined it was going to be something along the lines of a threat. But it wasn’t. 

“Thank you.” The words surprised Sasuke. It was the last thing he was preparing to hear. “For saving Naruto,” he continued. “I didn’t know why you did it, but now I think I do. He told me about the two of you being soulmates.”

“We’re not,” he said quickly. Denying it was his last attempt at keeping some stability in his life, but the more time he spent with Naruto, the more that it became harder to do. He just hoped that Naruto wasn’t blabbing about soulmates to everyone he saw. 

“Then how would you explain a vampire killing his own kind to save a werewolf?” Sasuke glanced down at the floor and wondered that too. He still didn’t know why he did himself. It was like he snapped and his body just did everything on his own. “Running away from it won’t change anything,” Iruka said, but Sasuke knew that already though. Running away wouldn’t help anything, but it was the only thing he knew to do in this situation. And so he would run away for as long as he could. 

Done with the conversation, Sasuke started walking down the hallway again towards the doors at the end. It was quiet for a few seconds before he heard footsteps again going in the opposite direction as Iruka went the other way. Finally, he stepped outside and advanced to his car, more than ready to go home. By now, orange tinted clouds were starting to float in the sky as the sun was about to set. Sasuke didn’t know that so much time had passed. It felt like thirty minutes had passed from the moment he saw Naruto and now, but he guessed he was wrong. He reached to his pocket to check his phone for the time, but he found it empty. Pausing, he checked his other pocket and any place where his phone might’ve been, but he couldn’t find it.

Once he realized it wasn’t on him, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This only proved how much he was losing his mind since he never misplaced any of his possessions, nonetheless his phone. At the thought of retracing his steps and probably running into Naruto again, he grimaced.

 _Do I really need my phone,_ he thought as he stood there. _I could just get it tomorrow or buy a new one if I needed._ In the end, he turned around and headed back into the building reluctantly. He walked through the corridor once more and then found himself at the back of the school again. Only this time, there was no Naruto. He stepped forward on the grass and looked in front of him to see his phone resting on a marble bench. He didn’t need to guess to know that Naruto probably found it and left it there.

He grabbed it and examined it, making sure that Naruto didn’t do anything to it. Once he deemed it okay, he turned it on to see a number of messages left on his screen, all from one unknown number.

‘Hey’  
‘You left your phone so I added my number’  
‘This is Naruto by the way’  
‘Sorry bout earlier’  
‘See you tomorrow’

The messages were followed by a string of random emojis that made Sasuke frown. _Great. He has my number now._ Not wanting to spend another second there, he walked back to his car as fast as he could and drove home. 

.o0O0o.

The moment he got home he instantly went up to his room and sat down on his bed. Breathing out deeply, he combed his hair back with his fingers and laid on his bed. Finally away from school and Naruto, he thought that his heart would’ve stopped racing in his chest, but it didn’t. His mind was still a mess too as a million different things floated around in his head. The memory of Naruto’s lips on his replayed and he couldn’t stop thinking about it no matter how hard he tried. It made him wonder whether things would get easier if he just accepted Naruto already. He exhaled and sat up on the bed. 

With no control over his thoughts anymore, Sasuke decided the best thing to do at this point was to distract himself. He stood and walked over to his bag. Opening it, he pulled out the red leather-bound book he found on werewolves. Since the day he first picked it up, he carried it around with him wherever he went. It felt more safe that way. 

He went back to his bed and laid down on it with the book in his hands. He thumbed through it, looking at the pictures sketched on the pages and occasionally reading a few lines. He’d read it over and over again and knew the whole book from cover to cover, but he still liked doing it. It calmed him. 

His finger traced the spine of the book while he flipped the page. Then, he paused once his eyes fell onto the next one. A drawing of a wolf being stabbed along its spine stared up at Sasuke. He knew that after that page all the others would be about the different ways you could kill a werewolf. His fingers tightened on the edges of the book.

He ripped the page out along with the rest that followed it. He balled them up and stuffed them in the drawer of his bedside table. He sighed and leaned against the wall. Staring at the torn line where the pages used to be, he felt like he made things more complicated, yet a sense of relief started to build in him. He closed his eyes and shut the book. _What’s wrong with me,_ he wondered, though he already had a feeling that he knew that answer.

As he set the book down next to him, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He didn’t have to look to know that it was Naruto texting him since all the other people who had his number knew not to text or call him. He closed his eyes and hoped that the vibrating would stop, but it continued straight for five minutes. When it didn’t stop, Sasuke groaned and grabbed his phone from his pocket. 

_He just doesn’t know when to quit,_ he thought unlocking his phone. Reading over Naruto’s texts, he grew annoyed at seeing how many there were.

‘Hey’  
‘Did you get your phone’  
‘Hey’  
‘Sasuke’  
‘Are you awake’  
‘It’s only six’  
‘I know your awake’  
‘I know you have your phone’  
‘I’m seventy percent sure you have your phone’  
‘Answer’  
‘Text back’

The messages went on and on as Naruto spammed him. Sasuke calmly inhaled while his grip on his phone tightened.

‘Stop texting me,’ he finally responded.

Naruto immediately sent another message. ‘You actually texted me back’

‘Yeah, now stop texting me before I block you.’

‘Okay’  
‘I’ll see you tomorrow’  
‘Goodnight’

Sasuke was surprised he gave up that easily, but he didn’t question it. Staring at Naruto’s contact, his thumb hovered above the delete button, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to press it. He couldn’t even press the block button either without hesitating. He shut his phone off and tossed it away from himself in frustration. 

Resting his head on his pillow, he closed his eyes, ready for sleep. He was too weary to even change out of his clothes as he turned over on his side. Though he had a feeling he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight due to his mind being so occupied.

.o0O0o.

For hours, Sasuke stared out his bedroom window. The sky was pitch black now with a few stars dotting it. Everything was silent, but then he heard a car door shut. Hearing it, Sasuke sat up in his bed and glanced at his bed side clock. Red numbers flashing 12:00am dully illuminated in the room. He stood and got a closer look out the window. Usually no one visited at night, and if someone did, it was later than this. 

A single person walked from the car to the front door of the house. For a second, Sasuke was confused, but then he realized that it really wasn’t his eyes playing tricks on him as he stared down at Itachi. Once again, he was back. Initially, Sasuke felt a little panicked at seeing him. _He’s supposed to be long gone,_ he thought. 

As he stood in front of his window staring down, Itachi turned his head towards him. Sasuke quickly moved out the way away from his view. When he deemed it okay again, he gazed out the window to see that Itachi was no longer there. He exhaled and gripped the edge of the window sill. Thinking of all the possible reasons why he returned, there was one that stood out in his mind. He backed away from his window and quietly approached his door. He stood there for a full minute contemplating what he should do.

He had to know why he was back. He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. With light footsteps while controlling his heart beat and breathing to the best of his ability, he walked towards Itachi in the main room. Halfway down the stairs, he paused and held his breath as he heard him speaking to someone on the phone.

“How long has he been missing?” He heard Itachi ask. There was silence before he spoke again.

“If it’s been a week then he’s dead.” His blood went cold. He didn’t have to think too much to realize what he was talking about. Sasuke clutched the railing as he listened in, trying to stay undetected. 

“Don’t bother trying to look for the body. There are other things to focus on now. This means that there are still some of them left around.”

 _Them?_ Sasuke had a feeling he knew what that meant, but he didn’t want it to be true. He always knew that Iatchi did some suspicious things, but he didn’t think it involved harming other people, even if they were werewolves. _That’s probably why that book was in the library,_ he thought. Now, he felt better that it was in his hands rather than Itachi’s. Sasuke shifted and slowed his breathing. A grim silence fell over the room as Itachi didn’t say anything. Sasuke thought the conversation must’ve been over, but then Itachi finally spoke. 

His voice held no trace of any emotion as he said three simple words. Yet, those three words were enough to send fear through every inch of Sasuke’s body. 

“We kill them.”


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto stared out the window of Gaara’s bedroom as rain started to pelt the window. He didn’t know why, but an uneasy feeling sat in his chest. He couldn’t sleep either, so now he just sat awake, watching the stars glimmer in the sky. Occasionally, he glanced down to his phone and looked at his messages in case Sasuke texted him, but he didn’t. Naruto knew that he wouldn’t text back, yet he found himself checking every five minutes. Sighing, he stood from the bed and walked out to the front door. He didn’t want to go home to just be alone, but it was starting to feel stuffy. As quietly as he could, he opened the door and shut it while he stepped outside. With nowhere else to go, he sat down on the ground out front and inhaled the fresh air. 

It wasn’t long before he heard the door creak open as Gaara walked out and then sat next to him. With the night of the full moon only a few days away, his senses were heightened, like they were the day he first saw Sasuke. He could hear every cricket chirp, every animal make a sound, and the wind as it blew through the grass and trees. 

“What’s wrong?” Gaara asked.

Naruto shrugged. “I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling I guess.”

“Does it have something to do with your soulmate?” His chest tightened at the thought. He knew it probably wasn’t about Sasuke, but he was still anxious. 

“I don’t think it does.” Naruto looked down at his phone and opened his messages. He wanted to text him now to make sure everything was okay, but he hesitated. His fingers hovered above the keyboard uncertainly. Abruptly, he turned his phone off and slipped it back into his pocket. _It’s probably not him,_ he thought. He didn’t want to bother Sasuke more than he already had. 

Falling back in the grass, he spread out his arms and legs and buried his fingers in the ground. As he closed his eyes, the image of Sasuke appeared in his head for the hundredth time that day. He always imagined that his first kiss with him would be...perfect, but today was the farthest away from it. The kiss itself was amazing, but the circumstances weren’t so as much. He groaned just thinking about it. Sasuke would probably go back to hating him all over again. 

“Naruto?”

“I’m an idiot,” he said. When Gaara didn’t say anything he turned over on his side and faced him. “You’re supposed to say, ‘no Naruto, you’re not an idiot.’” 

Gaara hesitated and blankly looked at him. “No Naruto, you’re–“

“Never mind. It’s not the same when you don’t mean it.” He turned on his back and looked up at the sky. Even with the soothing sounds of the forest, he still didn’t feel any better than earlier. He inhaled deeply, hoping to calm his nerves and rested his hand on his stomach. 

“Whatever it is your feeling, it’s probably nothing. You just need to take a deep breath and relax.” He glanced over at Gaara. 

“You’re right.” Breathing out deeply, he loosened his tense shoulders and focused back on the sky. “It’s probably nothing,” he said, yet he couldn’t help the feeling of doubt that grew in his stomach.

.o0O0o.

Once Naruto reached school, he immediately started heading towards the library where he knew Sasuke would be. Naruto hoped that he wouldn’t force him to leave, but he was preparing for it after what happened yesterday. Walking up the stairs to the library, he saw that the lights in the room were off. The door wouldn’t budge either as he pushed and pulled.

As he took his phone out of his pocket, he sat down on the floor. He knew that Sasuke should’ve been here by now. He stared at the screen, wondering if he should text him again. 

“Just once,” he said to himself. He typed out a short message and sent it to him. For minutes, he sat there staring at his phone intently until his eyes started to water. Soon, his eyelids became heavy as his lack of sleep started to catch up to him. Leaning his head against the wall, he started to doze off. It wasn’t until he heard keys jingling as someone unlocked the door that he snapped awake expecting to see Sasuke. When he stood and turned his head towards the door, a frown instantly formed on his face when he saw it was just a teacher. 

“You’re not Sasuke,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

“No, I’m not.” 

He leaned against the wall and checked his phone once more as the teacher pushed open the door. _Still nothing._

“Are you coming in?” The teacher asked. Naruto tore his eyes from his screen. 

“Yeah.” He walked in and went to the back to the table where Sasuke usually sat. He plopped down in a seat and propped his feet up on the chair next to him. Waiting for Sasuke to come, he tapped his fingers on the surface of the table and whistled to distract himself, but to him, it was still boring without Sasuke there. 

“You’re waiting for Sasuke?” Naruto looked up at the teacher. He’d seen him around school often since he stood out so much with his gray hair and the mask he always wore.

“Yep.”

“He’s usually here by now,” he said sitting behind the counter in the front. “Makes me wonder if something happened.”

Naruto tensed at that sentence. _What if that was the feeling from last night,_ he thought. He unlocked his phone and looked at his messages to see that Sasuke hadn’t texted him back. Forgetting all about limiting himself, he sent text after text, and then after the twentieth one, Sasuke finally texted back. 

‘I swear I’ll kill you if you keep sending me texts.’  
‘I’m just running late.’

Naruto let out the breath he’d been holding and relaxed back into his seat. He held his phone closer to him as a small smile set on his face. _He’s okay._

”He’s just late,” he said.

“And how do you know that?”

“I have his phone number.” Looking back up at the teacher, he saw he was reclining in his chair with a book in his hand.

“That’s impressive, especially for you Naruto. He usually hates loud and talkative people. Not many people can get close to Sasuke at all.” Naruto felt elated at hearing that. In his eyes, that meant he was special to him.

“Well, I put my number in his phone without him knowing so...” Naruto trailed off as he realized something. “How do you know my name? Does Sasuke talk about me?” He asked excited.

“No, Sasuke hardly speaks to me.”

“Then how do you me?” Naruto asked, sitting up in his seat. Instead of answering, he only flipped the page of the book he was reading. “Hey, stop ignoring me.” When he still didn’t answer, Naruto grew annoyed. He crossed his arms over his chest and placed his feet on the floor, but then the teacher suddenly spoke.

“I knew your father when you were younger.” 

Naruto froze and went still completely. His mind went blank at his words. _My father._ Since no one ever talked about his parents in front of him, he was surprised that some random teacher he just met was doing it for the first time. He looked at him again, but he was in the same position not sparing one glance away from him book. 

“How?” He asked. As soon as he said that, the door opened and Sasuke walked in. 

“Well, that’s my cue to leave,” the teacher said standing. He walked to the door, waving back at Naruto. His mouth felt too dry to speak as he watched him leave. He wanted to stop him and ask every question he ever had about his parents, but for some reason he couldn’t. He was too scared to. The door sounded as it closed shut. Naruto was too distracted to notice Sasuke sit down in front of him.

“What was he doing here?” He asked, but the words didn’t reach Naruto. 

“Hey,” Sasuke said, but he still didn’t respond.

“Naruto?” He turned to face him at hearing his name. It was probably the first time that Sasuke said it, which cheered Naruto up a little. 

“Who was that teacher?”

“Why?”

Naruto shrugged. “Just curious.”

“His name is Kakashi.” _Kakashi._ The name didn’t ring a bell. He thought about it more. When he looked up, he found Sasuke staring at him with an expression he couldn’t place. If anything, he looked concerned.

“What?”

Sasuke shook his head and looked away from him. “Nothing.”

“Are you worried about me?” He asked with a smile on his face.

“No.”

“Then are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“For yesterday. You know, when I kissed you.” A faint red started to dust his cheeks as he said it. 

“I’m over that.”

“Oh, really? Then we’re good?”

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. “Sure, if you want to put it that way, then we’re good.” Naruto grinned

“Good.” Recently, he was starting to notice that Sasuke was more receptive to him. It was like they were....friends now. Naruto wanted to be something more than friends, but this was good. It was progress.

.o0O0o.

For the rest of the school day, he was in a good mood, yet what Kakashi had said earlier stuck in his head. When school was over, he thought of looking for him to ask him to explain everything, but in the end wherever he looked, he couldn’t find him. It was like he vanished completely. Giving up, he went to look for Sasuke instead. He found him walking outside, an aloof expression on his face as some girl followed behind him. At seeing her pink hair, he recognized her at the girl he mistook for his soulmate.

He went up to Sasuke and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Like he expected him to do, Sasuke grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm back. 

“Ow! Okay, I won’t touch you.”

Sasuke released his hand and came to a stop. Naruto rubbed his shoulder at feeling an aching pain there, but he still thought it was worth it to touch him. When he turned around to get a look at the girl trailing a few steps behind Sasuke, he smiled and waved. 

“Hey,” he said cheerfully. She only returned his smile with a confused stare as her eyes flicked back and forth between him and Sasuke. 

“We need to talk,” Sasuke said turning his way. “Alone.” His eyes landed on Sakura as he said that last part. 

She nodded her head and smiled softly. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” As she left, Naruto followed her with his eyes. Even though Sasuke was his soulmate, he still thought she was attractive. But in his eyes, Sasuke was still the best. 

“She’s pretty.” Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm and a warm sensation traveled down his back. He turned to see Sasuke with a glare on his face. “Not as pretty as you though.”

“Stop talking,” he said taking his hand back. A serious expression worked its way onto Sasuke’s face as he stared at him, and Naruto started to get concerned at seeing it. 

“You need to be careful. Don’t do anything to attract attention to yourself.”

“Why? What’s with the grim look too?”

“Just listen to me. If you notice anything or any person that looks off,” he hesitated, “text or call me.” 

Naruto nodded. “Okay. But why?”

“Just do it.”

“Fine, I’ll do it.” 

Sasuke breathed out and gave Naruto one last look before he turned and walked away. He wondered what all of that was about, but he was somewhat happy since Sasuke gave him permission to text and even call. When he saw him leave, he headed back inside and went up to Iruka’s room. He contemplated texting him now, but thought better of it. Sitting down in a chair, he turned his phone off and tried not to touch it again. 

“Ready?” He glanced up at Iruka. 

“Already?”

“Yeah, I finished everything earlier.”

“Let’s go then.” He stood up and they walked outside to the car. As he opened the door, something suddenly came to him.

“Hey, do you know who Kakashi is?” Closing the door after him, Iruka have him an odd look. He shifted and started the car. 

“Yeah, why?”

Naruto shrugged. “He said he knew my father.”

Iruka stopped in the middle of the street and turned to him. “He said those words exactly?”

“Yep.” A somewhat irritated look came over Iruka’s face. He muttered something under his breath and started the car again once someone beeped at them. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Then why’d you react like that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was a little surprised.”

“Why?”

Iruka sighed wearily and glanced at him. “No reason.” Naruto went silent for awhile as he thought about something else.

“You knew my parents too, right?”

“What’s with all the questions so suddenly?”

“I’m just curious. But you did know them?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What were they like?”

After a few minutes, Iruka said, “They were very lively, spirited, and kind people.”

“Then how come no one talks about them?” Iruka shrugged and remained silent, though Naruto had a feeling he knew why. He decided to leave it alone for now and gazed out the window, but the topic of his parents stayed in his mind. He had a million questions about them, but whenever he asked one or even mentioned something about his parents, everyone went tight-lipped. It annoyed him more than anything.

Halfway home, a question popped in his head and wouldn’t leave him alone. He looked back to Iruka as he drove.

“Iruka?”

“Yeah.”

“How’d they die?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying to post every Friday, but that may not happen, but I will try. So here’s the new chapter, hope you all enjoy and sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

At hearing the question, Iruka shifted in his seat and avoided Naruto’s eyes. 

“I do deserve to know since they’re my parents.”

“Naruto, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“What do you mean you can’t tell me? I’m pretty sure you could if you wanted to.” Iruka sighed and shook his head.

“I just can’t.”

Naruto stared at him, an unwavering look in his eye. After eleven years of not knowing his parents or what happened to them in the end, he was determined to get answers now. 

“Why?” He pressed. When Iruka didn’t answer, he sat up in his seat and asked again. “Why? Why can’t you tell me what happened?” He could see the resistance on Iruka’s face slowly start to dwindle away as he relaxed and leaned back in his seat.

“I made a promise.”

“To who?”

“Your father.”

Naruto froze. That was the last thing he was preparing to hear. He thought getting answers would make things more clear to him, but so far that proved to be wrong. Exhaling, he sat back in his seat and looked down at the floor. He thought of all the reasons why his father would want to keep his death a secret from him, but what he came up with only made him feel terrible. In his mind, he imagined the worst thing possible and hoped that it wasn’t really what happened.

“Why would he want to keep that a secret from me?”

“He didn’t want you to live your life worrying about it.”

“Was it that bad?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Thinking it over, Naruto tugged at this hair. It still didn’t make any sense to him. 

“Then I don’t understand it. If it’s not bad, then why didn’t he want to tell me still. I would’ve been sad about it, but eventually I would’ve accepted it. Unless there’s something else you’re not telling me, then I don’t get it.” As he said that, he turned to Iruka. 

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

“Just drop it already Naruto.” Naruto ignored him and reflected on everything he learned. For the longest time, he focused and started putting pieces together, hoping to get a full answer in the end. As they pulled up in front of his house, something finally connected in his head. At what he came up with, his lungs suddenly failed him, and he could hardly breathe. His fingers trembled as they curled around the door handle. He hoped what he thinking wasn’t right, but as he said it aloud, it all started to make sense.

“They were killed....by vampires.” Out the corner of his eye, he could see Iruka flinch and then turn to face him. 

“No, Naruto. You’re–“

“Right. I’m right. That’s the only thing that makes sense. He didn’t want me to know because he was afraid that I would get involved and try to get revenge.”

When he glanced up at Iruka, he could see how unnerved he was. He remained silent, not saying anything else. That was all it took to confirm that Naruto was correct. Naruto inhaled a shaky breath. He abruptly opened the door and got out. Met with the sight of his house, an overwhelming feeling came over him. It was the last place he wanted to be now. He turned on his heel and walked towards the woods. Behind him, a car door slammed shut as Iruka got out and then followed him. 

Naruto sped up his pace and went between the trees. Coming upon a small clearing, he paced around and then sat down on a log just as Iruka came tearing through a cluster of bushes. Once he saw Naruto, a relieved expression showed on his face as he sat next to him, catching his breath. 

“Naruto, I’m sorry that I kept this from you, but your father thought it was best.”

“I could’ve handled it.”

“I know you could’ve, but we just wanted to be careful. We didn’t want you getting involved in this conflict, and that’s what your parents wanted too. They didn’t want you to get so hung up on revenge that you threw your life away. Your parents just wanted the best for you.” Naruto looked down at the ground, watching the blades of grass gently move in the breeze. He folded his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his arms. 

“Naruto?”

“I’m fine. You can leave now if you want.” When he glanced at Iruka, he could see doubt present on his face. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I won’t do anything stupid.”

“I know you won’t.” At this point, Naruto wanted to be alone and Iruka must’ve sensed that too. Soon, he stood and looked down at Naruto. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Naruto nodded. He turned to walk away but then paused. “I’m sorry,” he said solemnly. With that, he started forward again and went through the brush away from Naruto’s view.

After he had left, Naruto buried his head in his arms and shut his eyes. They threatened to let loose tears at any second, but he tried his hardest not to let that happen.

When his parents suddenly disappeared and no one talked about them, it left Naruto with a blank spot in his heart. He always wondered about what happened, but he didn’t even know what to think about it. He thought knowing would fix that, but it did the exact opposite. Now, he only felt worse and had even more questions about everything.

All at once, different emotions hit him. Sadness, confusion, anger. Angry at everyone for not telling him, angry at his father for wanting to keep this from him, angry at the people who killed him. Huffing, he locked his hands in his hair. He couldn’t help the anger that slowly started to rise in him. Not even ten minutes ago he told Iruka he wouldn’t do anything stupid, but now the only thing on his mind was just that. He wanted to find the people who killed his parents. Find out why they did it. Find what his parents did to deserve it, if they even did anything at all. He wanted revenge. 

And he actually considered doing it. But then Iruka’s words came back to him. _“They didn’t want you to get so hung up on revenge that you threw your life away. Your parents just wanted the best for you.”_ He breathed out as his hands dropped to his side. All thoughts of revenge that he had, he discarded them. 

Yet, he still couldn’t calm down. His breaths came out short and rushed and his thoughts were all muddled now. Naruto felt overwhelmed by everything. His hands slightly trembled and a wave of emotions flooded him again. He felt lost and confused, like he was all alone in the world, but then, an image of Sasuke appeared in his mind. 

Like always, he had an aloof expression on his face and his lips were pulled down in a slight frown, yet the picture of him made Naruto feel better already. He took a deep breath and slipped his phone out of his pocket. Scrolling through his contacts, he stopped on Sasuke’s. He stared at the call button, his fingers so close to the screen that he could feel a slight warmth coming from it. Then, he pressed it and held it up to his ear.

For what felt like the longest time ever, his phone just rang as he called him. After the fourth ring, Naruto started to give up hope that he would answer, but then at the last moment, he finally picked up.

“Sasuke?”

“What’s wrong?” At hearing his voice, a small smile formed on his face. He held his phone closer to his ear and stretched his legs out.

“Nothing,” he said. On the other end, he could hear Sasuke sigh into the phone. Naruto could already imagine the grouchy face he was making now. 

“I said call me if there’s a serious emergency. Is this a serious emergency?”

“No.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

“I don’t know. I guess I really like the sound of your voice.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No, wait. This is an emergency,” he said, trying his best to keep Sasuke on the phone. The line went silent, but Naruto knew he still there.

“Are you...okay?” He asked at last. Naruto found himself surprised by the question. He looked down at the ground and folded his knees back to his chest.

“...No..”

“What’s the matter then?” Naruto could hear the uneasiness in his voice. It told him that Sasuke wasn’t used to comforting people, though that didn’t shock him at all. He smiled. It made him feel special that Sasuke was trying to make him feel better. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His mind went blank, and he had no clue what to say anymore. “Naruto?”

Right on time, his phone beeped, letting him know that it was almost dead. He closed his eyes and locked his hand on the back of his neck.

“Sorry, I have to go.” 

He hung up and placed his phone next to him on the log. Every second he glanced at it, hoping that maybe Sasuke would call him back. Maybe then, he would be able to tell him everything, but nothing happened. Naruto was sure that it was dead, but he didn’t care anymore. Compared to before, he felt better. Sasuke made him feel him better. But then, he suddenly realized something that made his chest tighten. Sasuke was a vampire. 

He never really took that into consideration before since Sasuke didn’t seem like it. He didn’t go crazy at the sight of blood, he didn’t turn to ash in the sunlight, he didn’t sparkle, and he wasn’t set on killing every werewolf he saw either. He was just normal. Naruto looked down at his feet. Even though Sasuke was a vampire, he decided that he still liked him. And they were still soulmates. 

Feeling a little better, he sat on the grass and leaned back on the log. He closed his eyes and relaxed as he tried to clear his mind. Soon, he started to drift to sleep with the calming sounds of the forest around him, yet he still couldn’t help it as a tear rolled down his cheek.

.o0O0o.

The next day, Naruto awoke to ants crawling on his arms and legs. He blinked and then shot up in the grass. With the moon faintly visible in the blue sky, it felt like every inch of his skin was covered with ants as his senses became heightened. He stood up, swiping every bug off of him. He grabbed his phone off the log and walked away from the clearing as he glanced up at the sky.

It was a bright blue with barely a cloud to be seen. Naruto wondered what time it was, but like he guessed, his phone was dead. He knew that it was Friday though, and that school had probably started by now. A part of him wanted to be there, but between his senses being so sensitive and the full moon being tonight, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself there. It was too risky. 

As he walked through the woods, he could distinctly hear every sound there was and feel every breeze of wind against his skin, even the weak ones. After he got used to it, he started to enjoy it. He couldn’t help the bursts of energy that occasionally shot through his body, making him suddenly sprint happily among the trees. He knew it was the effects of the moon though, bringing his other side closer to the surface. 

When the sun was fully in the sky and shining brightly down on Naruto, he hiked through the woods until he finally saw Gaara’s house. He pushed the door open and walked in, a smile on his face. He was still mournful from yesterday, but with the moon’s influence he felt spirited. 

“I’m back,” he said as he entered, but no one responded like usual. Stepping into the living room, he found it empty and silent. He continued down the hallway into Gaara’s room to see him standing in front of his window. 

“Where’s Kankuro and Temari?” He asked plopping down on the bed. 

“Out.”

“Already?” Gaara nodded his head. Naruto bounced on the bed and then laid down, facing the window. He noticed how Gaara’s hand tightly gripped the window sill as he stared out of it.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, backing away from the window, “I’m fine.”

Naruto took his word and turned over on his back. His heart pounded in his chest and his fingers twitched in anticipation. From the way his body was acting, he could tell that night was hours away. Staring up at the ceiling, a question suddenly popped in his head.

“Gaara?”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel about vampires?” As he waited for his answer, he fiddled with the blanket he laid on. But then, he could hear a faint growling come from Gaara’s direction. Hearing it, he sat up on the bed and looked his way. He could only see the back of his head, but he could still see how tense he was. 

“They’re heartless killers. I hate them more than anything.” His voice was gruff and low as he spoke, something that Naruto hadn’t heard in years. He always vaguely knew that Gaara had a bad past involving vampires, but he didn’t know it was that bad. 

Naruto stood and slowly approached him. When he neared him, he placed his hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him. It seemed to work as he relaxed into his grip. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.” Gaara shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine.”

Even though he said it was fine, Naruto didn’t feel like it was. He felt guilty for keeping something from Gaara. For a second, he considered telling him about Sasuke, but he froze and thought better of it. He turned back around and sat down. Slowly, the sky started to change colors while the day began to end. 

As the sun set down below the horizon, Naruto sat up in the bed. His hair stood up on his arm the closer night got. When the sky turned a dark blue and stars began to faintly shine, Naruto stood and blankly stared out the window. 

“Let’s go,” he said excitedly. He sped out the house and paused once the cold air reached his skin. Every nerve of his body was touched at the feeling of it. Looking up, he could see the outline of the moon becoming bigger and brighter. His heart beat faster at the sight and adrenaline filled his body along with an eagerness. He felt like he would shift at any second. 

Taking a step into the cluster of trees, he reached for the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head. Next, his hands moved to his pants, not stopping until every article of clothing he had on before was on the ground. In the distance, he heard a howl break among the noise of the forest, calling to him. As he stood there, the air felt electrifying. Against his skin, he felt everything, even the moonlight shining upon him. And then within seconds, he felt free.


	14. Chapter 14

Sasuke impatiently looked down at his phone. Still, there was no message or call from Naruto. He didn’t show up to school either, which only made him more on edge. Turning his phone on, he scrolled to Naruto’s contact and stared at it. Just as he was about to tap it, he froze and then turned his phone back off. 

_He’s probably fine,_ he thought. Though he still felt apprehensive. Ignoring the concerned side of him, he stood up from his desk and paced around his room. His hands continuously combed through his hair as he thought about what could’ve happened to him. The last time Naruto missed a day of school, he was badly injured after almost being killed, and the phone call he got from him yesterday only made Sasuke feel worse too. Something sounded off with him, and he could clearly hear the sadness in his voice. Maybe something really was wrong. Sasuke paused.

 _“We kill them.”_ Itachi’s words went through his mind, replaying second after second. His chest tightened at the thought. Abruptly, he walked over to his phone and found Naruto’s contact again. Without any hesitation, he called him. It rang once, then twice, and then after the sixth time, it went to his voicemail. Sasuke tried to stay calm, but anxiety rose within him. _What if something happened to him?_

He knew he would’ve felt something like last time if he was injured, but he was still worried. He stood and stepped over to his window. Peering outside, he saw that Itachi’s car wasn’t there anymore. That only added to his fear. He held his phone back up to his ear and called him more and then texted, but still nothing. 

Exhaling, he grabbed his car keys off his dresser and went downstairs. When he reached the first floor, he was surprised to see his mother sitting on the couch in the parlor. His parents were hardly ever at home, so he was used to being by himself. But now Itachi was back and even his mother. Hesitantly, he stepped to her and stood in the doorway.

“Do you know where Itachi is?” He asked. She only glanced over her shoulder at him and shook her head.

“He said he had some business to take care of.”

The words made his heart beat even faster. Not wasting another breath, he walked to the front door and went out to his car. He knew that his parents wouldn’t have cared what he was doing. They were always too focused on other things to be concerned with him. He liked it that way though.

Stepping into his car, he got his phone out again and searched around until he found what he was looking for. He turned the car on and sped out onto the road. He glanced down to the GPS on his phone and almost groaned when it said the house was an hour away. He was somewhat relieved though to know that Naruto lived far out, away from all the other threats. He stepped on the pedal and took down the road as fast as he could. 

As he stared out the front window, he saw that the sky was dark, and the further out he got, the more stars he could see along with how big and bright the moon was. With it being so late, no one else was on the road and within forty minutes, he neared his house.

The number of trees started to increase the closer he got and soon after he turned down a dirt road, he could see a house standing in the middle of a clearing. He parked in front of it and got out. Examining it, he walked up to it slowly. The porch groaned under him, and he stepped across it to the front door. He knocked on it, but there was no response. He tried the doorknob, fully excepting it not to budge, but it did. He pushed the door open and walked in. It looked like any normal house except for all the dust that sat on everything.

With just one glance, he could tell that Naruto wasn’t here. Not wanting to intrude more than he already had, he closed the door behind him and walked back outside. He was starting to calm down since he knew Itachi wasn’t here, but then as he approached his car, he faintly smelled something fragrant in the air. Naruto’s blood.

In one second, all the worry that left him came back. He took off into the woods, following the smell. He crashed through bushes and branches, looking for him. Then, when he came to a small opening, the smell of blood suddenly vanished. Sasuke glanced around him, but he saw no one near him. Just as he was about to take a step forward, he heard a howl pierce through the night. He froze as realization sunk into him. He looked up at the full moon in the sky and stared at it. 

Everything started to make sense to him now. Why Naruto didn’t show up to school, and why he wasn’t answering his phone. Sasuke clenched his hands into fists at his side. He felt like an idiot now, and that was something he’d thought would never happen. He turned around, hoping that he knew his way back to his car and took a step forward.

But then, out the corner of his eye, he saw the shrubs to his right rustle. He eyed the bushes warily, but now everything was completely still. All he could hear was the chirp of crickets, and trees rustling in the wind. Slowly, he took a step forward. Then, out of nowhere, something lunged out of the bush and tackled him to the ground.

He closed his eyes as his back connected to the forest floor. When he opened them back up, he was met with dazzling blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. There was no mistaking that it was Naruto, only now he wasn’t exactly human anymore. Sasuke felt claws dig into his shoulders as he gazed up at Naruto in his other form. Different from the cheery, accident-prone Naruto he knew, this one was actually...intimidating. Sasuke shifted and tried to move, but Naruto growled and put more of his weight on him. 

“Naruto?” It was hard to believe that this was the same Naruto he knew. Trying to move again, he saw that he wouldn’t budge. Naruto lowered his nose until Sasuke felt his breath against his neck. “Naruto,” he said again. 

He expected to feel teeth in his neck at any second, but instead he felt a wet tongue start licking him. Naruto moved up to his face, eagerly lapping at his skin. Sasuke sharply inhaled and roughly pushed him off. He rubbed at his neck and cheek, feeling slobber covering most of it. 

“Gross,” he muttered. 

Naruto only got back up and tramped back over to him. Sasuke watched him warily as he stopped an inch away and just stared back. He cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to him. Sasuke moved back as he got closer. It was still all too strange for him. Naruto kept following him though, his mouth open almost as if he was smiling. 

“Shoo,” he said, waving his hands at him. “Move away.”

Naruto didn’t seem to understand as he kept moving closer. Eventually, Sasuke gave up and sat down on the grass. Not long after, Naruto trotted up to him and climbed on him again, much to his annoyance. He sighed, but didn’t do anything about it this time. He let Naruto sniff him, and after what seemed like forever, he lost interest and started chasing after a yellow butterfly. 

Without Sasuke realizing it, a small smile pulled at his lips as he looked upon him. It was like he was an actual dog. An oversized, potentially dangerous dog. He didn’t act much differently than how he usually did either. Watching him jump after the butterfly, Sasuke could imagine Naruto doing the same thing while he wasn’t a wolf too. He leaned back on his hands in the grass. Soon, Naruto’s attention was focused back on him once more, and he enthusiastically ran back to him, his tail wagging. 

He let out a little bark as he almost tackled him back to the ground again. Sasuke sighed and sat up straight, forcing Naruto off him. To his left, he saw a medium-sized pebble resting on the ground next to him. He picked it up and looked Naruto in the eye. Showing him the rock, he threw it into the woods. Naruto paused, looked behind him at the direction it went in, and then faced to Sasuke again. He walked up on his lap and started licking him. Sasuke sighed and pushed him off, shaking his head. 

“No, go get it,” he said pointing to it. “Get the rock. Fetch.” Naruto blinked at him. “Can you even understand me? Do you know what I’m saying?” Naruto walked closer to him and licked his cheek. He took that as a no. 

Tired, he fell back in the grass. He couldn’t care less anymore. Naruto laid down next to him and curled into his side. Though he would never admit it, the warmth felt good and comforting to him. He turned over and glanced at him. His fur was blonde just like his hair was, but it was somewhat stained with dirt and leaves stuck out from it. Before he knew what he was doing, he lifted his arm and picked the leaves from it. 

As his hand brushed against his fur, it was unexpectedly soft. He lowered his hand down to it and lightly stroked it. Naruto turned his way and then moved closer to him, setting his nose in the crook of his neck. His hand still petting him, Sasuke looked up at the sky. It was so clear that he could see every star shining. He breathed out and then closed his eyes. _What am I still doing here?_

He only came to make sure Naruto was okay, not to stay all night and groom him. The rational part of him told him to leave, but deep down he wanted to stay. As he argued with himself, Naruto shifted beside him and stared nibbling on his ear. At the feeling, Sasuke moved away from him and sat up.

“Don’t do that,” he said. He knew that he didn’t understand him, but for some reason he couldn’t stop talking. Naruto stood up too and walked over to him. He sat on his lap and leaned in close to his neck again, only this time he didn’t lick or nibble him. After some time, Sasuke relaxed and his hand rose to his head. Slowly, he went back to stroking his fur. It made him wonder if his hair was usually this soft. 

Before he knew it, the sky started to get lighter and the moon got more dull as the night began to end. Birds started chirping and soon the sun was rising. His eyes stayed glued to Naruto, anticipating his change back. He never thought he would get to witness something like that. 

As the sun began to come up over the horizon, Naruto suddenly pulled away from him and walked towards the middle of the clearing. It was like he knew the exact moment he was about to turn back. Then, as he watched him transform back, his breath catch in his throat at the sight. Sasuke thought that the transformations would always be painful for them, but viewing Naruto, it looked the furthest thing away from it. It looked almost peaceful. 

Back to normal now, Naruto sat on his knees in the grass, his back and whole body bare. Sasuke stared at him, entranced by the sight in front of him. Then, Naruto turned around to face him. He looked to be normal again, but he still seemed different. Slowly, Naruto advanced towards him until he was sitting on his lap again. 

“Naruto?”

He didn’t answer. His eyes looked blank too, and they didn’t hold the happy twinkle they usually had. He lifted his hand to Sasuke’s face and cupped his cheek, directing their eyes to meet. His hand against his skin felt warm and hot. They got closer to each other until Sasuke could feel his breath on his lips. Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto brought their lips together for a kiss. 

Sasuke’s eyes went wide, but he couldn’t pull away. He didn’t want to. He placed his hand on Naruto’s neck and kissed him back. It was soft and gentle. Naruto soon pulled away though. He lowered his mouth to his neck and this time, he licked it, and then bit down hard. Sasuke’s eyes fluttered close.

It hurt, but another sensation he couldn’t place mingled with it, making his body go hot. He leaned in closer to Naruto and bit back a groan. He could tell that Naruto broke the skin, but he didn’t care anymore. His fingers pressed into his neck, and then he backed away. Naruto looked him in the eye and then lowered his head, resting it on his thigh. Not long after, he heard snoring coming from him. 

Breathing hard, Sasuke put his hand over the place where he bit down. When he pulled his hand away, he saw red on his fingertips. Instead of being mad or confused, he felt satisfied. Letting out a breath, he closed his eyes and stroked Naruto’s hair.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this on Friday, but I fell asleep while editing, and then I was going to do it on Saturday, but then I was too lazy to finish editing, so I’m posting it today, finally. So I hope you all enjoy! :)

Naruto shifted, inhaling the fresh air. He could hear birds chirping around him and felt sunlight gently brushing his skin. As he opened his eyes, he yawned and stretched his arms out. Feeling someone stroking his hair, he nuzzled his head in their lap and closed his eyes again, basking in the pleasantness of it all.

“Gaara, what time is it?” He asked. The hand caressing his hair suddenly stopped and moved away. Naruto frowned, missing its warmth already.

“I’m not Gaara.” 

In a moment, all the calm he felt evaporated from his body. Eyes snapping open, he shot up and backed away from Sasuke. He stumbled up to his feet and turned his back to him, blushing furiously. The hair on the back of his neck stood as he sensed Sasuke intently staring at him. Remembering his lack of clothing, he covered his front with his hands and inched towards the bushes. 

“Stop staring! Why are you even here?” 

“You didn’t pick up your phone.”

“You called me?” He asked. “Why?” Sasuke turned his gaze away from him and shifted. Standing up, he brushed his hair from his face. 

“No reason,” he said. 

Naruto cocked his head at him, clearly confused by his answer. Sasuke made a big deal about not calling or even texting him unless it was an emergency and then he just called and dropped by his house for “no reason.” It didn’t make any sense to him. 

“How’d you find my house?”

“Not important.” Naruto scrunched his nose at Sasuke’s vague answers and glanced over at him. Specs of dirt stained his shirt and his hair and clothes were more disheveled than usual. Seeing his appearance like that, Naruto wondered what happened since he was always so composed and clean. With his eyes locked on him, he unconsciously lowered himself behind the bush, wishing he had clothes now. As a gust of wind blew by, Naruto shivered and tried to warm himself. 

“Um...can we finish this conversation at my house so I can get dressed?” 

“Yeah. You lead the way.” Red immediately dusted his cheeks at the thought of Sasuke walking behind him. He shifted and deeply exhaled before he scooted to the side and started to walk back to his house. He did his best to not turn around so Sasuke wouldn’t get a complete view of his backside. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his face and continued forward with Sasuke trailing after him. 

In front of them, a fallen tree laid decomposing on the ground, which told Naruto that they were ten minutes away from his house. Though ten minutes sounded too long for him. He fought the urge to look behind him at Sasuke and stared ahead at all the trees and bushes. His hands stayed glued to his sides and his shoulders remained tense while he walked.

A few minutes into the hike, a tingling sensation started on his neck and slowly began to make its way down. Naruto shuddered and then straightened his back.

“Stop staring!” he shouted. When he glanced at Sasuke, he looked off in the other direction, averting his gaze. Naruto huffed and quickened his pace. In his mind, he didn’t think the first time that Sasuke saw him naked would be as embarrassing and awkward as this. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to him though because from the moment he first smelled his scent at school, nothing had gone according to plan. A sigh left him as made a sharp turn and hopped over a small stream. 

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Yeah, of course I do. I live here.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything else and the rest of the walk to the house was quiet as no one spoke. When they neared it, Naruto went at a faster pace, wanting to escape from Sasuke’s view as soon as possible.

Emerging from the woods, the first thing Naruto saw was a car parked outside his house. He didn’t focus on it for too long as he sped into the house and went up the stairs, two at a time. Once he reached his room, he put on whatever clothes that laid on the floor, clean or not. At this point, Naruto thought that any clothes were better than none.

Slipping his shirt on, he heard Sasuke close the door downstairs and walk to the steps. Naruto could hear them groan under him and then Sasuke was soon standing in his doorway. With just a glance at him, Naruto could tell he was disgusted with the state of his room. He gave a small smile and started shoving stuff into his closet. 

“I usually don’t have guests,” he said, kicking some of his clothes under the bed. He expected Sasuke to say some snarky comment, but instead he stepped into the room and went over to him. Naruto paused when he saw how close he chose to stand to him. 

“What?” He asked. His eyes rose to meet Sasuke’s, but his gaze was focused somewhere else. Suddenly, Sasuke grabbed his wrist and lifted it up. “What’re you–“

“You’re bleeding.” Naruto lowered his head to his wrist and looked to see a shallow line of blood running against his skin. He didn’t notice or even feel it before now. 

“Oh,” he said. “Don’t know how I got that.” He tried to take his arm back, but Sasuke’s grip on it was hard and firm. Glancing up at him, he saw that his eyes were still pointed at the cut across his wrist, completely enchanted by it. A shiver went down his back at seeing the hungry look on his face.

“Do you...want some?” He asked, lifting his wrist up. For a second, he could’ve sworn that Sasuke would’ve said yes, but then he let go and looked away.

“Just take care of it,” he said, his voice husky. Naruto nodded and swallowed, suddenly noticing how dry his throat and mouth were. He bent over and picked up a stray shirt that laid on the floor. He lifted it and wrapped it around his wrist, tying a not with the ends of it. 

“There. Fixed.” Sasuke gave him a look. 

“You’re such an idiot,” he muttered. Before Naruto could say anything, he stepped towards him again and grabbed his wrist. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“I don’t need your help and I’m not and idiot. I’m fine.”

“You obviously do need my help.”

“It’s just a scratch. It’ll heal in a day.” They started at each other stubbornly. Naruto could feel Sasuke’s fingers tighten around his wrist, but then, he let go and took a step back.

“Fine,” he said. 

He turned his back to him and walked over to the doorway, a frigid expression on his face. As Sasuke leaned against the wall, Naruto saw him holding his neck and rubbing his thumb over the skin there. Eyes fixed on him, he could make out a mark on his lower neck. A bite mark. 

“Did I do that?” He asked. 

“Do what?” 

“Bite you.” Sasuke dropped his hands to his side and looked away, not saying anything. Annoyed by the way he ignored him, Naruto sat down on his bed and folded his arms in front of his chest. He continued to stare at the bite mark on his neck, captivated by it. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was the one that made it, but he just couldn’t remember when. Pride started to swell in his chest the more he stared at him. He thought the mark looked perfect on him.

“If you’re just going to stare at me like that I’m leaving.”

Naruto instantly directed his gaze elsewhere, just realizing how long he’d been staring at him. He was surprised that Sasuke had even stayed this long. 

“When’d you get here?” He asked curiously. 

“A little after midnight.” 

_Midnight?_ He didn’t think that Sasuke would’ve shown up that late over a missed phone call. It made him wonder if there was something else he wasn’t mentioning, but Naruto didn’t think of it for long. 

“So what’d you do for all that time?” Sasuke looked at him strangely and stood up straight off the wall. 

“You don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” Naruto stared at Sasuke, confusion clear to see on his face. 

“You don’t remember what happens after you transform?” Naruto paused at his words, letting them sink in. 

“Last night...you saw me?” Sasuke nodded. 

His fingers fidgeting with the fabric of his shirt, Naruto shifted on the bed and avoided Sasuke’s gaze. It unnerved him that he saw him in his other form last night. Sasuke probably remembered every little thing that happened, yet he couldn’t even remember they met. It made him nervous that he might’ve done something he shouldn’t have since he couldn’t control himself after he turned. 

“Did I do anything strange? Other than mark you.” 

“What do you mean by mark?” Naruto lifted his head up to meet his eyes as he felt a sudden burst of confidence. While he lowered his gaze to his neck, Naruto felt his heart beat spike and a feeling of possessiveness came over him. 

“It means you’re mine now.” 

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him. “Oh really?”

At hearing the sarcastic tone in his voice, Naruto frowned. “I’m being serious. I claimed you.” 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sasuke only looked at him and then fixed his gaze elsewhere. An exasperated sigh left Naruto when he saw how Sasuke went back to ignoring to him. His bed creaked under him as he fell back on it and then closed his eyes. 

“Since you’re just going to ignore me you can leave.” Before he even finished the sentence, Naruto already started to regret the words. Even though Sasuke was being frustrating, he didn’t want him to leave just yet. He was expecting to hear footsteps going out of his room, but there was nothing. He opened one eye and looked to see if he was still there or if he had left already without him noticing, but much to his pleasure, Sasuke was still standing against the wall, a soft expression on his face. Naruto thought it was strange to see such a look on his face since he was used to his regular unapproachable look. 

“Does it hurt when you turn?” He suddenly asked. Naruto sat back up on his bed, surprised by the random question. He rubbed the back of his head and leaned against the wall.

“No. It feels...good actually. Like a weight’s being lifted from my shoulders.”

“Is it only on full moons?” Naruto nodded and sat up straighter. For some reason, he liked it when Sasuke asked him questions.

“Yeah, or if I get really mad. Though some werewolves can control their transformations and can turn whenever they want.”

“I’m guessing you can’t do that.”

“Not yet.” Naruto smiled and brought his legs up on his bed, crossing them. “What’s with all the questions?”

“I’m just curious.” Staring at him, he decided to ask questions of his own too. 

“Why don’t you drink any blood?”

“I do. Just not regularly.”

“Don’t you turn to ash if you don’t get enough blood though?”

“No, I don’t. I only need it once every few months and even if didn’t get enough I wouldn’t turn to ash. That’s just some stupid myth.”

“And garlic, holy water, crosses...” With a scornful look from Sasuke, Naruto trailed off, already knowing the answer to his question. He couldn’t help the little laugh that bubbled out of him. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the image he had in his mind of Sasuke being repelled by something as tiny and harmless as garlic, or if it was just because he was happy. A smile remained on his face as he looked at Sasuke again.

He seemed confused by his cheery attitude, but Naruto could see that he had a pleasant demeanor about him. For once, his lips weren’t pulled down in a frown and it didn’t look like he hated everything in sight. It almost seemed like he was...smiling. 

“You’re staring again.”

“Oh, am I?” Naruto let his eyes linger on him for a few more seconds before he looked away. Sitting up straight, he started thinking of something else to ask Sasuke. Anything that would keep him there longer.

.o0O0o.

Naruto didn’t know how much time had passed as they both asked each other question after question, but when he glanced out the window, he noticed that the sun was hanging low below the horizon and that the sky was darker than before.

Then, out the corner of his eye he noticed something moving on the ground and saw someone walking up towards his house. Gaara. Since he never came to the house before, Naruto wouldn’t have expected him to show up now. Especially at the worst moment possible when Sasuke was over. He quickly stood to his feet and searched around the room for a place to hide Sasuke. His eyes then landed on the closest. It was probably filled with clothes and trash, but it would have to work.

“Get in the closet,” he said, turning towards Sasuke.

“I’m not doing that.

“Sasuke, please.” He stared at him, his eyes pleading. Slowly, he could see the stubbornness on his face start to dwindle away. Without a word, he turned and got into the closet, closing it after him. Naruto exhaled and raced down the stairs just as Gaara walked in. 

“Hey, what’re you doing here?” He tried his best to act natural, but he felt as if Gaara would see through him at any second. 

“You suddenly disappeared.”

“I had something to take care of.”

“What?” Naruto racked his brain for any plausible answer, but his mind was blank. 

“Uh...something personal. It’s private.” He fidgeted under Gaara’s piercing stare. 

“Whose car is outside?”

“Iruka’s. He came over earlier and now he’s upstairs,” he paused, trying to find something to say, “taking a nap,” he said at last. Gaara looked away from him and glanced around the room. Naruto could see his shoulders tense as he glanced up to the ceiling.

“Why does it smell so strange?”

“It always smells like this. Why’re asking so many questions anyway? Paranoid much?” He forced a laugh and leaned against the railing of the stairs. His laughter slowly died out though as Gaara directed his eyes at him. It was brief, but for a second he could see hurt flash in them. 

“Naruto, I know you’re hiding something from me so you can stop acting like that. You don’t need to lie to me either. Whatever it is, I just hope that you’ll tell me one day since we are friends.” Naruto’s chest tightened as he heard him speak. His voice was stiff, and it was never like that when he spoke. Especially when he spoke to him. Naruto wanted to say something, but his mind was frozen and his mouth was dry. 

Gaara turned around and walked out the door without another word while Naruto just stood there, helplessly watching him leave. It didn’t seem like much had happened, but Naruto knew that Gaara was hurt. He would be too if he knew that Gaara was holding something big from him. They’ve been together through everything and Naruto considered him more than just a friend. 

After minutes of standing there looking at the door, Naruto took a step back and went upstairs back to his room. He walked over to his closet door and opened it up to see Sasuke shoved in the there among all the clothes. It almost made him smile. 

“You can come out now.” A scowl on his face, Sasuke rose to his feet and immediately stepped out. 

“Do you ever wash your clothes?”

“No.” Naruto’s gaze fell to the floor, his mind filled with the conversation he had with Gaara not too long ago. He couldn’t help but wonder if this would drive a stake in the relationship they had. 

“Naruto?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay?” Taken off guard by the question, Naruto broke away from his trance and glanced at him.

“Yeah,” he said, faking another smile. But from the look on Sasuke’s face, he could tell that it wasn’t convincing. _I must be terrible at lying and hiding things,_ he thought. Sasuke didn’t say anything though. He just stared at him. When Naruto met his eyes, he noticed how close they were. “I swear I’m fin–“

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a pair of lips against his. Shivers shot down his back and a warmth blossomed in his chest. But as soon as it started, it was over and Sasuke was pulling away from him. 

“Don’t lie to me,” he said. Naruto stilled and met his gaze again. Shifting, he looked down. 

“I’m not really fine.”

“I know.”

“But I don’t want to talk about it or anything.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you to in the first place.” Once he heard the unsociable tone in his voice that he knew so well, he gave a small smile. With that, Sasuke took a few steps away from him to the doorway. 

“I’m leaving now.” 

“Wait. Why’d you kiss me?” He paused and glanced over his shoulder at Naruto. 

“It’s payback.”

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What does that mean?”

Sasuke only ignored him and walked out the room and down the steps. Not long after he left the house, he heard a car door slam shut and the engine start. Alone in his room, Naruto went over to his bed and dropped down on it, his lips tingling from where Sasuke had touched him. He was happy now, but he still couldn’t fight the bitter feeling that slowly crept into him.


End file.
